Plans to build Greater Manchester’s first new train station for a quarter of a century have been approved for a town cut off from the railway network since 1967.
The £32m station in Golborne, near Wigan, was proposed by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) after a residents’ campaign.
Since trains stopped calling at Golborne 58 years ago, the town has been left without any direct transport links to and from Manchester.
Wigan Council leader David Molyneux said the new station would make a “real difference” to people’s lives.
When it opens, Golborne station will be a stop on an hourly service operating between Wigan and Stalybridge, via Manchester Victoria.
It will also provide a link to the West Coast Main Line which runs from London to Glasgow via Crewe, Manchester, Preston and the Lake District.
Planners approved the bid after the government backed a business case put forward by TfGM, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Wigan Council.
A Golborne-based engineering firm has been appointed to develop the final plans.
Work on the new station is expected to start in 2026, with the first trains due to call at it the following year.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said it was “a significant moment” for the city region as well as for local residents who had “campaigned tirelessly”.
Leigh and Atherton MP Jo Platt said Golborne had been “waiting a long time for this”.
She said the station would “bring better connectivity, help to reduce congestion, and support local economic growth”.
