8 hours Ago
The Northern Belle will not be pulling into Bolton this weekend due to works taking place. The £78m scheme to electrify the railway line between Bolton and Wigan has meant the planned visit by one of the world's poshest trains to the town on Saturday has been cancelled. The 1930s Pullman-style Northern Belle should have taken more than 200 champagne-sipping passengers on a slap-up seven-course lunch trip over the picturesque Settle-Carlisle railway line.
But the train has now been diverted via Wigan and Leyland instead after departing from a red carpet-covered platform at Manchester Victoria at 10.25 am. READ MORE: Northern Belle luxury old-style train managed by Bolton lass Jeanette Snape A taste of the Orient Brilliant pictures show famous train as it 'flies' through Bolton station A spokesman said: “We are very sorry to be missing out Bolton and apologise to our loyal passengers – especially as this would have been our only visit to the town in 2025.
“But it was beyond our control. Once Network Rail announced the engineering work for this weekend we had no choice but to reroute the train. “Overhead power lines are being built, along with.
modifications to level crossings and signalling and work to extend the platforms at several stations. “Hopefully, though, we will be back in Bolton next year, and we have several trips coming up from Manchester and Preston.” The 1930s Pullman-style train, which used to form part of the iconic Orient Express group, was once described by actor Bill Nighy as “the Grand Dame of luxury travel”.
It even boasts its own resident band while an on-board conjuror adds an extra touch of magic to the journey. One of the seven individually-decorated carriages used to form part of the late Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Train and is said to include what was the Queen Mum’s favourite seat, from where she would wave through the window while sipping gin and tonics. For more details of the Northern Belle, see www.
northernbelle.co.uk.
