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Major progress on the £145m Hope Valley railway upgrade is on track this summer, with changes to services between Sheffield and Manchester every weekend in July.

An ambitious multi-billion-pound rail upgrade in West Yorkshire has now been given the green light, bringing a faster, greener, better-connected railway one step closer for passengers in the North of England. It’s the biggest milestone the Transpennine Route Upgrade has ever achieved.

• Network Rail is thanking passengers for using alternative journeys into Manchester over the recent Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday 
• 450 railway engineers completed a major signalling overhaul to modernise journeys into the city as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade 
• This will allow for faster line speeds towards Manchester Victoria meaning more reliable journeys for passengers now and enabling faster journeys in future 

This weekend, hundreds of Network Rail workers will carry out key upgrades to the railway in Yorkshire in a boost to reliability.

Ground-breaking work on a £145m rail reliability upgrade between Manchester and Sheffield will start later this month.

Over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday, Network Rail will complete a major signalling overhaul in Manchester to modernise journeys into the city.

An upgraded, step-free footbridge will make it easier for rail passengers in Selby to travel by train – Network Rail will begin work in August 2022.

• A bright, floral exhibition will greet passengers at Leeds station from 13-15 May as part of the Brighter Journeys campaign
• Rail industry seeks to make people smile and encourage help-seeking behaviour during Mental Health Awareness Week
• The campaign hopes to lift peoples’ spirits after nearly three quarter of adults in Yorkshire (72%) reveal that their mental health has been negatively impacted by the coronavirus