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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

A brand-new £1.3m platform is being built at a North Lincolnshire station as part of a significant project to reinvigorate passengers’ experience and make train travel more attractive.

• Major progress made to electrify the railway between Manchester and Stalybridge as two bridges are raised
• Transpennine Route Upgrade will help to create a cleaner, greener railway between York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester
• Passengers should check before they travel this Early May Bank Holiday as work continues

• Network Rail and the British Transport Police are cracking down on railway vandals in South Yorkshire
• Metal cable thieves have cost taxpayers over £280k and delayed journeys by 89 hours in the past year
• New surveillance techniques aim to catch criminals in the act – offenders face court and large fines