Leigh (43,000) and Tyldesley (36,000) both now subjugated by the Metropolitan Borough of Bigwiggin (Wigan), lost their rail service in 1969 with the closure of the Leigh loop. While Greater Manchester spends millions upon millions with its Metrolink system, these towns remain neglected. It takes an hour by bus to Manchester from Leigh (12 miles), and the roads are chokka in the rush hour.
They've been talking about a guided busway for years, but nothing has come of it yet. The real motive behind shutting the line was to save £500k on the M602 bridge at Monton.
It would be possible to build a new link down from the direct Salford-Wigan (via Daisy Hill) line, just west of Walkden, to join Tyldesley and Leigh back into the network. Alternatively/ additionally, reopen a station at Glazebury, between Newton-le-Willows and Patricroft, which could serve much of Leigh and Culcheth (park and ride). The latter is prime commuter territory. Unfortunately Glazebury now falls just within the new expanded Cheshire boundaries, and they don't seem interested in doing anything to help Leigh, or GMPTE won't do anything outside their frontiers.