RAIL users in Bolton have been hit by further disruptions after a section of platform collapsed at Kearsley station.

A section of platform two at the station fell away overnight meaning that services travelling from Manchester Victoria to Bolton have been unable to stop at the station today.

Transport bosses say they do not know the cause of the collapse, however, it will only compound the misery of rail users who have faced a week of severe disruption after the introduction of a new timetable on Monday.

Network Rail have said that a full assessment of the platform is taking place with a view to repairing it as soon as possible.

In the meantime, a replacement bus service is running from Kearsley to Bolton, although passengers travelling from further down the line wishing to stop at Kearsley are being asked to travel on to Bolton before boarding a train back to the station.

The rest of the station remains open and services in the opposite direction are continuing to stop at Kearsley.

Jeff Davies, chairman of the Bolton Rail Users Group, said the incident summed up the raft of problems on the rail network this week, which have included numerous delays and cancellations to trains on a daily basis.

He added: "It has been so shocking that I would say there has been nothing like this in the history of British railways.

"Although Northern has not covered itself in glory, we need to remember that the people that got this wrong in the first place were Network Rail.

"The transport secretary is fully in control of that and has, in my view, some explaining to do."

On Thursday, transport secretary Chris Grayling said bringing Northern’s trains up to scratch was his “top performance priority” and that he was working alongside Transport for the North (TfN) CEO Barry White to assess the operator’s ‘action plan’.

The plans include extra services at peak times on the Bolton corridor, an increase in the driver roster, more contingencies drivers in case of disruption and improved driver training on new routes to get services moving quickly.

Both TfN and the department of transport – collectively working under the banner of the Rail North Partnership – has also called on Northern to improve communication to the public and make daily calls to Network Rail to manage operations.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “Platform 2 at Kearsley station is closed after a small section of the platform edge fell away. A full assessment is taking place so we can carry out repairs as soon as possible.

"The rest of the station remains open and passengers should check with National Rail Enquiries for the latest travel information.”

A statement from Northern read: "Owing to an unsafe platform at Kearsley, services from Manchester Victoria to Bolton are unable to call at Kearsley in this direction only.

"Rail replacement transport will run from Kearsley in lieu cancelled services and will set down as required to Bolton. This will be provided by Atlantic Travel.

"Customers who wish to alight at Kearsley in this direction are asked to travel onwards to Bolton and connect with a train service in the return direction.

"Passengers are advised to listen for further announcements."