Media centre

Friday 5 Oct 2018

Passengers urged to check before they travel as final stage of signalling upgrade in West Yorkshire takes place

Region & Route:

| Eastern

Network Rail is advising passengers in West Yorkshire to check before they travel as the final stage of work to upgrade the signalling system takes place as part of the Great North Rail Project.

On Saturday, 20, Sunday, 21 and Monday, 22 October, Network Rail workers will carry out the final stage of the project to upgrade the signalling system in West Yorkshire, The work will see old signalling technology ‘recontrolled’ from local lineside signal boxes at Mill Lane (Bradford Interchange), Hebden Bridge, Halifax and Milner Royd (Sowerby Bridge)  to the state-of-the-art Rail Operating Centre in York.

The project will bring benefits to passengers across the north, providing a more modern, reliable and cost-effective railway which will improve journeys,

On Saturday, 20, Sunday, 21 and Monday, 22 October, train services between Bradford, Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield and other stations in the area are affected and bus replacement services are in operation. Passengers are advised to plan ahead via National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator. Train services will resume as normal for the start of service on Tuesday, 23 October.

Rob McIntosh, Route Managing Director at Network Rail, said: “We’re urging passengers to check before they travel as the final piece of the upgrade to the signalling system in West Yorkshire takes place.

“There’s never an ideal time to work on the railway and we appreciate that this upgrade will cause some disruption for passengers. We are working closely with train operators to keep this to a minimum and we’d like to thank passengers for their patience.

“Once completed, this project will provide a more modern, reliable and cost-effective railway which ensures we can continue to meet the needs of the communities and economies our railway serves.”

Paul Barnfield, Northern’s Regional Director, said: “The re-signalling will pave the way for the modernisation of the railway in a significant part of West Yorkshire.

“Network Rail’s engineering project goes hand-in-hand with our own improvements which will see brand new and improved trains – as well better stations – giving our customers a better journey experience.

“We will work with colleagues across the industry to keep disruption to a minimum and keep our customers on the move during the engineering works.”

A Grand Central spokesperson said “We’re well prepared, with rail replacement road transport in place to ensure customers can smoothly connect with our trains.  Please check before you travel by visiting our website www.grandcentralrail.com for further information.”

The major work follows the successful completion of phase one of the West Yorkshire signalling upgrade, which delivered an upgraded signalling system between Ravensthorpe and Marsden via Huddersfield.

ENDS