BOLTON train station will close at the weekend for five months — and three other stations in the borough will close completely between May and October.

Moses Gate, Farnworth and Kearsley stations are due to be closed while work is carried out on Farnworth Tunnel, while Bolton station is to close for electrification work.

The closures are all related to the £1 billion electrification of the north west's busiest train routes — which transport bosses say will bring faster trains with more seats running through Bolton.

During the work there will also be eight fewer trains running through Bolton every hour on weekdays.

Cllr David Chadwick, Bolton Council's cabinet member in charge of transport, said: "We can only apologise for the inconvenience that people will suffer while these stations are closed.

"Unfortunately, if you want a modern railway, you have to make sacrifices.

"I have been pushing to get this information publicised so that people know about it far enough in advance, because it's a big project."

The closures will happen from May 2 to October 4.

While Bolton station is closed, Northern Rail will provide rail replacement buses at the weekends, which will run between Manchester, Preston, Blackburn and Wigan, via Bolton.

One of the two tunnels which makes up Farnworth Tunnel will be closed for five months while it is filled with concrete and expanded out into a larger tunnel, using a specially-built tunnel boring machine.

When the new tunnel is complete, it will be fitted out with new tracks, signalling and electrification equipment that will power and operate new electric trains from the end of 2016.

Cllr Chadwick added: "The problem we have got is that there are three or four bridges in Bolton which will need to be taken down to carry out the electrification work — it's a mammoth proposition.

"At the moment, the gap between the top of the train and the bridge in Farnworth tunnel is very small. We need to get more clearance between the train, the pantograph on top of the train, the electric wires and the bridge."

The smaller tunnel will remain open while work is taking place, which means there will only be a single line in operation.

From 10pm, there will be no trains running through Farnworth Tunnel and there will be none at weekends.

Cllr Chadwick said that, while these closures would present short-term problems for Bolton residents, the long-term benefits would be invaluable for the borough.

He said: "I have always wanted to see electric trains running through Bolton.

"At present, a train running from Bolton to Manchester takes about 20 minutes — we are hoping that these new trains will be able to make the journey five minutes quicker.

"These works will also include the reinstatement of platform five at Bolton station, which will allow a slower moving train into one platform while the faster train runs past it."

Cllr Chadwick added: "People are going to have to be flexible with their travel arrangements.

"If you are going to Manchester by train, for instance, you need to think about getting out early, or going to another nearby station, or changing at a station on the way in."

A Network Rail spokesman said: "This complex piece of work is a vital stepping stone in electrifying this route and providing an improved rail service.

"Service frequency will be reduced but we will seek to provide as much capacity as possible, especially during peak times."

Representatives from Network Rail will be at Bolton train station tomorrow from 8am to 10am to talk to people about the project and provide more information about what it will mean to train services between Manchester and Bolton.