Media centre

Thursday 16 Mar 2017

£100m investment to start on Calderdale rail line this month

Region & Route:

| Eastern

Passengers are being urged to check before they travel ahead of a vital £100m investment on the Calder Valley line as part of the Railway Upgrade Plan in West Yorkshire.

Work begins in mid-March to renew and upgrade vital aspects of the track on the line which runs between Leeds and Manchester via Bradford Interchange and through Calderdale.

The project, which will be carried out over weekends between 19 March and 15 May, will see essential elements of the track and the track bed replaced in order to improve the reliability of the railway and cope with an increasing demand for services both now and in the years to come.

The work, which involves engineering trains and equipment being on track, takes place over weekends when fewer passengers use the railway in order to keep disruption to a minimum, with bus replacement services in operation from several stations during the project.

Neil Henry, area director for Network Rail, said: “The investment in the Calder Valley line is vital to keep the railway performing reliably as demand for rail services continues to grow. Although there is never a good time to disrupt passengers, fewer people use the railway at a weekend and I advise those who are looking to travel between March and May to plan ahead.”

Paul Barnfield, Regional Director at Northern, said: “The weekend work on the Calder Valley Line is a vital part of Network Rail’s project which will pave the way for our own modernisation programme.

“Once complete, this work will complement other improvements taking place across the region, including the refurbishment of all Northern trains and the introduction of 281 new, purpose built carriages, and will help us provide a rail service fit for the 21st Century.”