SIR: I reply to Cllr Harkin's letter. He confirms that, up to recent pressure, no thought had been given to a bus service to Middlebrook. Now they bring in Timeline and you go all round Westhoughton. Pensioners note, your £1 day ticket, your weekly cards are of no value. Only Clipper cards are accepted.

Was not the rail link a pressure from the Wanderers? £750,000 among Wanderers, Rail and you. It is now £3,000,000. You stick at £250,000. I do not blame you. To me, in my dotage, £750,000 was silly. You failed because, at the outset, you did not say - £260,000, no more.

I am interested to read of the train service increases. You miss the point. The only bus services to the Rail station are C.N.R., C.O.R., Halliwell, Blackburn Rd. All other areas are half-to-a-mile walk to the carriage point at Bolton. There is no reasonably-near car park for a day's free parking. Once you get to Piccadilly Station late evening, how much more convenient to have your car at Radcliffe. The local bus services are non-existing after 8-9pm. Again, the evening services are run by Timeline and Stagecoach. You pay again; passes are no use

While on the subject of buses, I am advised that the 536/537 are notorious for missing bus services during the day. The Supervisor says it has nothing to do with him - see an Inspector on the bus station. Find one!

Mr N , Blinkhorn

(almost 90)

Bromwich Street, Bolton?

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.