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Monday 20 Oct 2025

Rail upgrade work between Leeds and York across Christmas and New Year period

Region & Route:

Eastern

Upgrade work along the route between Leeds and York will continue over the Christmas period and throughout January to help deliver a faster, greener and more reliable railway as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

Customers are being urged to plan their journeys ahead of time at nationalrail.co.uk or their train operator’s website, if travelling on the following dates:

 

Thursday 25-Friday 26 December

No trains will run, in line with the annual Christmas shutdown of the UK rail network.

Saturday 27-Monday 29 December (11:30am)

No trains will run between Leeds-York/Selby, with rail replacement buses in operation.

No trains will run between Wakefield Kirkgate-York, as well as Selby-York.

Monday 29 December (11:30am)-Saturday 3 January

Trains will run between Leeds-Micklefield/Selby, serving local stations in between.

No trains will run between Leeds-York, and Wakefield Kirkgate-York, with rail replacement buses in operation.

Sunday 4 January-Sunday 25 January

Trains will run between Leeds and York, diverted via Castleford.

No trains will run between Micklefield-Church Fenton.

 

Across the 32 days, the signalling and telecommunications systems along the route will be replaced, with a total of 54 new signals, supporting infrastructure and a brand-new power supply installed, tested and brought into use. This will create a more reliable and efficient railway.

The tracks in the Church Fenton area will also be remodelled, with platforms 3 & 4 at the station re-aligned and a passing loop installed to allow fast trains to overtake slower trains. This will enable the line speed to be increased in the future and unlock more frequent services.

Across the route, 3km of track will also be replaced and 8 switches and crossings, which enable trains to change from one line to another, installed, delivering smoother, more reliable journeys. Work to install overhead electric line equipment will also continue, ready to power greener, quieter electric trains in the future.

This major upgrade will see a total of 45 engineering trains, 879 rail wagons, three large cranes and three tamping trains used to enable work to be completed.

 

Lucy Grogan, TRU sponsor, said:

“While there is never an ideal time to carry out essential improvement works such as these, and we appreciate that many people will be using the rail network to visit family and friends over the Christmas and New Year holiday, the time of year was specifically chosen as it is traditionally the quietest time of year for rail passengers.

“These upgrades form a vital part of our wider programme of work and will take us a step closer to improved rail travel across the North.”

 

Andrew Allwright, TRU Programme Delivery Lead for Northern, said:

“The work taking place over the Christmas period into January in the Church Fenton area is vital to delivering the benefits of the Transpennine Route Upgrade. Customers who travel from Church Fenton will see some changes to their station and platforms in the new year, while Network Rail will also be delivering signalling upgrades on the route into Leeds, which will bring our customers a faster and more reliable railway for years to come.

“Rail replacement buses will be in operation where we are unable to run services through Church Fenton, while Northern will also run an amended train service throughout the duration of the improvement works, with a number of phases of work being delivered from Saturday 27 December to Sunday 25 January.

“Understandably, our customers that normally travel on the routes between York, Selby and Leeds will be affected. We recommend that those travelling check before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk”