Monday 23 Jun 2025
Another step closer to faster, greener services across the Pennines
- Region & Route:
- Eastern
On Friday (20 June), Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) engineers completed the latest series of upgrade work between Huddersfield and Leeds.
Over 3km of track was renewed throughout the area, which will enable smoother, more reliable journeys, whilst vital drainage and tunnel work was also undertaken, allowing for further track work in the future.
55 foundations for overhead line equipment (OLE) masts were installed, which will power greener, electrified services through West Yorkshire and beyond in the coming years.
Site preparation work continued in Dewsbury, which will see an extension of the station platforms so that longer trains with more seats can stop at the station following completion.
36 engineering trains and 6 tampers (rail vehicles that pack railway stone around the sleepers) were deployed across this stretch of railway throughout the period to help deliver the upgrades.
Work throughout the area will continue across three weeks in October.
Andrew Campbell, Sponsor for TRU, said:
“Our engineers have worked around the clock over the last four weeks, and we’re delighted to have successfully completed our latest phase of upgrades safely and on time.
“With work ramping up across the entire TRU footprint, we’re edging closer to a faster, cleaner railway across West Yorkshire, with strong recent progress made on OLE installation in particular, which will help power electric services in the future.”
Customers were kept on the move throughout the work via diversionary routes and rail replacement bus services.
Chris Nutton, Major Projects & TRU Director at TransPennine Express, said:
“It’s great to see the progress that’s being made by engineers, especially around Batley and Dewsbury, where more OLE foundations have been installed, showing customers the vital upgrades that are coming to West Yorkshire. The preparatory work in Dewsbury is an important first step in the upgrades our station will be getting in the coming years as part of TRU.
“I’d like to say thanks to our customers for their patience while the railway was being upgraded. I’d also like to express my gratitude to our colleagues for delivering another successful possession, with good performance across the board for services that used the diversionary route and for pulling together to help our customers throughout these four weeks.
Notes to Editors
- Our workforce is local, with 80% employment from within a 40-mile radius of the route, and 60% employed from within a 25-mile radius.
- With a current workforce of around 5000 people, we expect to employ 8000 people over the length of the programme.
- The halfway mark of employing 590 apprentices has already been achieved, with over 360 now working on TRU
- Improved natural environments near the railway through 10% biodiversity net gain across the route. This will create or enhance habitats for wildlife.
- The multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) will bring this line into the 21st century with 70-miles of fully electric, digital railway.
Our plans include:
- Electrifying the whole route between Manchester and York via Huddersfield and
Leeds - Installing a new digital signalling system along the Transpennine route
- Doubling the number of tracks from two to four between Huddersfield and
Westtown in Dewsbury. - Station improvements along the route to enhance customer experience, comfort
and accessibility - Improving the railway on diversionary routes to allow more trains to run, helping
passengers and freight on the move while the core Transpennine route is closed to
deliver essential upgrades. This will provide capacity and reliability improvements
for the future too.
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Journalists
Ewan Bayliss
Communications Executive
Network Rail
ewan.bayliss@networkrail.co.uk
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