Monday 24 Feb 2025
Customers urged to plan ahead as TRU complete upgrades in West Yorkshire
- Region & Route:
- Eastern
Next Monday (March 3), the TRU team will begin engineering work between Ravensthorpe and Leeds, with weekday services affected until Friday 21 March. Weekend services remain unimpacted during this period.
The work forms part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, a multi-billion-pound programme that will better connect towns and cities across the North of England. The upgrades will see over 1.9km of new track installed and over 860m of drainage renewed, whilst overhead line equipment (OLE) will be installed between Morley and Leeds.
Engineers will also remove Batley signal box, which has been non-operational since June 2023.
This is the next phase of upgrades in this part of West Yorkshire, following work completed back in November which saw the installation of 101 electrification masts, 107 OLE mast foundations, over 3km of new track, and the removal of 900m of redundant cable.
Jonathan Hepton, Project Sponsor for TRU, said:
“This series of weekday works affecting services between Dewsbury and Leeds will enable vital upgrades to this stretch of railway. Further installation of electrification equipment and new track takes us one step closer to an upgraded, electrified Transpennine route.
“I’d encourage any passengers travelling on weekdays during this period to plan their journey ahead of time.”
Chris Nutton, Major Projects & TRU Director at TransPennine Express, said:
“It’s great to see the progress that’s being made on this part of the Transpennine main line, with customers being able to see overhead line equipment starting to go up between Morley and Leeds, as well as other upgrades installed along the route that will improve the railway for years to come.
“During these vital improvement works, TransPennine Express won’t be able to run trains on the line between Ravensthorpe and Leeds. To keep customers on trains as much as possible, we will divert trains between Huddersfield and Leeds via Wakefield Kirkgate, slightly increasing journey times. Rail replacement services will connect Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Leeds, and all local stations in between.
“We advise customers to check before they travel. For the people who plan to travel across the Pennines, we’ll have extra staff on hand at stations to help people get where they need to go.”
During this period, trains will not call at Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury, Batley, Morley and Cottingley. Passengers will be kept on the move between Huddersfield and Leeds via a diversionary route, increasing journey times.
Notes to Editors
Full breakdown of service changes:
TransPennine Express services:
Rail services
Liverpool Lime Street – Hull. Services from Hull will start/terminate at Leeds instead of Liverpool Lime Street.
Liverpool Lime Street – Newcastle. This service will run to an amended timetable. It will divert between Mirfield and Leeds using the Healey Mills diversionary route, increasing journey times. It will not call at Dewsbury.
Manchester Airport - Redcar Central. Services from Redcar Central will start/terminate at Manchester Victoria instead of Manchester Airport. They will divert between Mirfield and Leeds using the Healey Mills diversionary route, increasing journey times, and will not call at Dewsbury.
Manchester Victoria – Scarborough. Services from Scarborough will start/terminate at York instead of Manchester Victoria.
Huddersfield - Leeds (local stopping service). This service will not run. A rail replacement bus will run, calling at all local stations.
Rail replacement buses
Dewsbury - Leeds (direct). An hourly rail replacement bus service will run directly between Dewsbury and Leeds. The estimated journey time is 30 minutes.
Huddersfield - Leeds (all local stations). An hourly rail replacement bus service will run between Huddersfield and Leeds, calling at Deighton, Mirfield, Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury, Batley and Morley. The estimated journey time is 89 minutes.
Huddersfield - Leeds (fast). An hourly rail replacement bus service will run between Huddersfield and Leeds, calling only at Dewsbury. The estimated journey time is 65 minutes.
Huddersfield - Manchester Airport. An hourly rail replacement bus service will run between Huddersfield and Manchester Airport, calling only at Stockport. The estimated journey time is 80 minutes.
Northern:
Rail services
Wigan Wallgate – Leeds: This service will divert between Leeds and Sowerby Bridge, and will not call at Morley, Batley, Dewsbury, Mirfield and Brighouse. This service will instead call at Bradford Interchange and Halifax.
Huddersfield - Leeds (local stopping service). This service will not run. A rail replacement bus will run, operated by TPE, calling at all local stations.
Rail replacement services
Halifax – Leeds: An hourly rail replacement bus service will run between Halifax and Leeds, calling at Brighouse, Mirfield, Dewsbury, Batley, and Morley. The estimated journey time is 83 minutes.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Ewan Bayliss
Communications Executive
Network Rail
ewan.bayliss@networkrail.co.uk
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