Thursday 3 Apr 2025
Heads up with first images from inside Huddersfield Station’s new roof
- Region & Route:
- Eastern
New pictures reveal the radical transformation to the roof above thousands of passengers’ heads at Huddersfield station, as the Transpennine Route Upgrade works to transform millions of journeys across the North.
Work to modernise the listed railway station to accommodate longer and faster trains began over a year ago. Now part of the scaffolding on the building is being removed, after the team reached a key milestone.
Inside the roof space above platforms 1 & 4, workers have preserved the canopy’s historic features while enhancing its durability for future generations. A standout refurbishment includes the extensive roof truss and renovated floral effect crests.
James Richardson, Managing Director for Transpennine Route Upgrade said:
"Huddersfield Station is an important gateway for the town, and this restoration and modernisation is delivering a station customers can be proud of for generations to come.
"Our teams are working hard across the site to bring the benefits of TRU to life. Their dedication and expertise have been instrumental in preserving the station’s heritage while modernising it for the future. This achievement also moves us forward to the next phase of activity, ensuring further improvements for passengers and the wider community.”
Chris Nutton, Major Projects & TRU Director at TransPennine Express, said:
“We are immensely proud of the progress that has been made at Huddersfield station and are excited for our customers to see part of the restored canopy roof – a major milestone in this once in a lifetime upgrade.
“The investment put into one of our flagship stations as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade is leading to significant improvement already, which will not only improve the experiences of our customers but will also boost economic growth in the West Yorkshire communities we serve.
“I’d like to thank the teams on the ground for working collaboratively and around the clock to deliver this historic milestone, all on an operational railway. It’s an incredible achievement.”
In the coming weeks, the scaffolding and coverings will be removed, revealing 29 restored trusses and a series of ornamental floral-effect joins. This achievement is part of transformative, wider TRU plans that will deliver a faster, greener and more reliable railway across the North.
With a section of the canopy roof project now complete, attention turns to the next phase of upgrades during a 30-day intense programme of activity between August and September, when the station is taken out of use. During this time, focus will move from the roof restoration work to track and platform remodelling across the entire station. Follow updates on the improvements and how journeys are affected here.
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 358 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.
Contact information
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Journalists
Ewan Bayliss
Communications Executive
Network Rail
ewan.bayliss@networkrail.co.uk
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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
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