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Wednesday 29 Sep 2021

Manchester railway upgrades continue this weekend - passengers reminded to check their journey

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: North & East

• Major Transpennine Route Upgrade work continues between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge this weekend
• The latest stage of improvements include strengthening Williamson Street viaduct, upgrading more track at Miles Platting and installing new equipment for signalling cables
• The project will bring faster, more reliable services between Manchester and York, via Huddersfield and Leeds
• Trains between Manchester and Stalybridge will run via Manchester Piccadilly only (not Manchester Victoria) on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 October – passengers urged to check their journey

Network Rail is reminding passengers travelling between Manchester and Stalybridge this weekend to check their journey, as essential railway upgrades continue to bring more reliable journeys for passengers.

Major work took place last month to reconstruct railway bridges, install new signals and upgrade over 3000m of track in Greater Manchester. The work is part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), which will improve connectivity in the North of England by providing faster, more reliable services for passengers travelling between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.

In the latest phase of the project, TRU teams will strengthen railway bridges which form part of the viaduct on Williamson Street. They will also make further upgrades to the track at Miles Platting, install overhead line equipment foundations and install new equipment for cables - ahead of work in October to upgrade the signalling system.

This will bring faster, more reliable services for passengers on the route and enable more trains to run in future.

For this work to take place safely, the following changes will be in place for passengers:

Saturday 2 October

• TransPennine Express services from Yorkshire and the North East will be diverted into Manchester Piccadilly.
• TransPennine Express trains from Liverpool will divert to Manchester Airport.
• Buses will replace Northern services between Stalybridge and Guide Bridge to connect with trains to/from Manchester Piccadilly

Sunday 3 October

• TransPennine Express services from Yorkshire and the North East will be diverted into Manchester Piccadilly
• Buses will replace TransPennine Express services between Liverpool and Manchester Piccadilly
• Buses will replace Northern services between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge, and Manchester Victoria and Ashton-under-Lyne

There will also be changes to TransPennine Express and Northern services on Sunday 10 and Sunday 17 between Manchester Piccadilly and Stalybridge, as vital upgrade work continues in and around Manchester. This time services will be diverted via Manchester Victoria – to keep passengers on trains as much as possible.

Passengers are advised to check their journey via National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator and allow plenty of time.

Neil Holm, Transpennine Route Upgrade Director for Network Rail, said: “We made major progress during our 16 day upgrade this summer where we reconstructed railway bridges and upgraded track in central Manchester. This latest phase of the project, which involves further improvements to the track and work to install new equipment, will allow upgrades to the signalling system to take place next month.

“All of this work will boost reliability and eventually allow faster, more frequent trains to run on the Transpennine route between Manchester and York via Huddersfield and Leeds.

“I want to thank passengers for their continued patience while these vital upgrades are carried out. We’re diverting services between Manchester Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly to keep people moving by train as much as possible. Some high-quality buses will be used where this isn’t possible and passengers are advised to plan ahead.”

ENDS