Friday 22 Mar 2024
Ravensthorpe Road to be temporarily closed while next phase of Transpennine Route Upgrade work commences
- Region & Route:
- Eastern
Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) are reminding road users to plan their journey ahead of time, as Ravensthorpe Road closes for a 10-week period.
From Monday 8 April 2024, Ravensthorpe Road will be closed to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic while major upgrades take place, bringing passengers one step closer to faster, greener and more reliable journeys between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.
Over the 10-week period, Yorkshire Water, on behalf of TRU, will finalise their connections to an existing water main beneath the road, allowing a new road layout and bridge to be constructed in the future. To reduce the impact on the community and reduce the need for additional closures, Northern Power Grid will also complete work involving the connection of high voltage cables.
The closure, which will extend from Veolia Dewsbury Service Centre to 153 Ravensthorpe Road, will allow for the next stage of these key upgrades. Access to Veolia will be maintained throughout this period and pedestrian access past the worksite will be available via the public footpath.
Additionally, from Tuesday 2 April, a range of work will also take place along Fall Lane.
Strong progress has already been made in Ravensthorpe with the site being cleared, while archaeology and historic mining mitigation work have also been completed.
To raise awareness of the closure and to allow the local community to plan their journey ahead of time, warning signage will be in place from Friday 29 March 2024. Additionally, signposted diversion routes will be established along the route with clear directions of the best route to take.
Work has been carefully planned to take place at times that have the least amount of impact on local residents. This means that staff will be on site on the following days and times, with an additional 30 minutes before and after each shift to complete preparation and clear up work:
· Monday to Friday: 08:00 to 18:00
· Saturday: 08:00 to 13:00
· There will be no work taking place on Sundays.
Paul Sumner, senior sponsor on Transpennine Route Upgrade said:
“We know that closing roads, bridleways or public footpaths, especially ones like Ravensthorpe Road that are heavily relied on by the local community, is far from ideal and I would like to thank everybody for their support and understanding while this work takes place.
“As part of the ongoing upgrades being completed by TRU, Ravensthorpe Station will be relocated approximately 300m West of its current position, providing the opportunity for trains going to or from Wakefield to call at the station. Additionally, a new forecourt with blue badge spaces, drop off point and step free access will be built.
“Unfortunately, for us to achieve this, it does mean that there will be occasions when road closures need to be implemented. When this occurs, we’ll always do our best to carefully plan the work so that we can re-open it at the earliest opportunity.”
Anyone who uses this route is encouraged to check roadworks.org for the latest information and the most up to date diversionary routes.
Notes to Editors
TRU will bring passengers:
• More trains to choose from and more seats. Our improvements will enable more
trains to run between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York with up to six fast
services every hour between Leeds and Manchester and up to two stopping
services for local connectivity.
• Faster journeys so you can travel to your favourite towns and cities more quickly.
Our fastest journey times are forecast to be 63-66 minutes between Manchester
and York and 41-42 minutes between Manchester and Leeds.
• More reliable journeys with trains that run on-time
• Better stations across the Transpennine route, bringing passengers a better travel
experience through improved, more accessible stations
• Greener travel, reducing our carbon footprint and improving air quality. Our plans
aim to save up to 87,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year – supporting the
government’s Net Zero objectives. We’re also developing a proposal to move more
goods by rail (up to 15 more freight trains each day.)
• Together, these freight trains are expected to remove over 1,000 lorries off the road each day.
TRU will bring local communities:
• Jobs for local people. Our workforce will be local, with 80% employment from
within a 40-mile radius of the route, and 60% employment from within a 25-mile
radius. With a current workforce of around 2000 people, we estimate that could
double over the course of the programme. We’ll employ an apprentice for every
£4million spent.
• Improved natural environments near the railway through 10% biodiversity net
gain across the route. This will create or enhance habitats for wildlife.
The multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) will bring this line into the
21st century with 70-miles of fully electric, digital railway. Our plans include:
• Electrifying the whole route between Manchester and York via Huddersfield and
Leeds
• Installing a new digital signalling system along the Transpennine route
• Doubling the number of tracks from two to four between Huddersfield and
Westtown in Dewsbury.
• Station improvements along the route to enhance customer experience, comfort
and accessibility
• Improving the railway on diversionary routes to allow more trains to run, to help
keep passengers and freight moving while the core Transpennine route is closed to
deliver essential upgrades. This will provide capacity and reliability improvements
for future too.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Ewan Bayliss
Communications Executive
Network Rail
ewan.bayliss@networkrail.co.uk
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