NORTHERN Rail has improved connections for rail commuters on lines between East Lancashire and Preston and Manchester.

From today, timetable changes will see services increase from every hour to every 30 minutes on weekdays between Blackburn and Manchester Victoria.

Services between Colne and Preston will run every hour on Sundays, up from every two hours.

The changes are part of a wide-ranging modernisation programme that will also see Northern add more than 2,000 extra services each week by 2020.

Jake Berry, MP for Darwen said: “This is great news and something that we’ve been working on for some time.

"Darwen is a brilliant place to live, work and visit but one of the issues that people bring up with me is the need to improve connections with Manchester and Blackburn.

"Regular commuters have been very patient whilst the work was carried out but the extra services from Northern will mean a huge increase in capacity, less overcrowding and with the new carriages arriving next year, it's been worth it for everyone in Darwen.”

Andrew Stephenson, MP for Pendle, said: “The new hourly Sunday services to Preston from Colne, Nelson and Brierfield are very welcome.

"With the new trains and better infrastructure, we will see more people able to switch from their cars to using trains, reducing congestion on our roads."