BOLTON Tory councillors have slammed rail and bus operators for providing a "disgraceful" service into Bromley Cross.

Tory Cllr Alan Wilkinson said trains in the morning from Bromley Cross Station were being cancelled, bus services were constantly being changed and bus drivers were rude and abusive to passengers.

Cllr Wilkinson said: "Bus drivers have been abusive.

"In general, we have had a deterioration in the buses and trains in the north end of Bolton."

He said a direct bus service to the Royal Bolton Hospital had been axed and added the 8.21am train from Bromley Cross had been cancelled three of four times in one week.

Cllr Wilkinson said promises by train operators to improve services had all been broken.

And Cllr John Walsh added: "We are in an appalling mess in the north east of the borough.

"The operators are culpable."

Lib Dem Cllr Barbara Ronson added: "It's an absolute disgrace."

But Labour councillors were outraged at Tory criticisms of public transport and accused them of hypocrisy.

They claim the previous Conservative Government had created the problem in its bus and train deregulation legislation.

Cllr Laurence Williamson said public transport was in such a mess he would not even recommend people to use it instead of their cars.

He said on a holiday abroad, he found the transport system in Turkey was better than in this country.

Vice-chairman of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority Cllr Guy Harkin said transport authorities had not been given enough powers to properly regulate and plan the public transport system when it was deregulated. He added problems were wide-spread in many other parts of the country.

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