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Wednesday 1 Feb 2023

Reminder: Diversions and buses keep passengers moving between Huddersfield and Leeds over nine days

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: North & East

Passengers travelling between Huddersfield and Leeds should check before they travel from Saturday 4 to Sunday 12 February as major upgrades get underway at Morley station.

Network Rail has worked closely with train operators Northern and TransPennine Express to keep passengers moving by train, using a resilient diversion via Wakefield. Some services between Huddersfield / Brighouse and Leeds via Dewsbury will be replaced by buses for passengers travelling to intermediate stations.  

Those planning to travel should check their journey before setting off via National Rail or their train operator’s website.

Over nine days, engineers working on the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade will lay the foundations for new, longer platforms and realign the tracks around Morley station.

This is in preparation for a new, accessible station to open later this year around 75 metres down the line from the existing station and ultimately offer more reliable, longer trains with more seats available for passengers.

Natalie Hewitt, Senior Sponsor for Transpennine Route Upgrade said: “Our work at Morley is just one part of a major programme to transform train travel in the north of England. A newly built, accessible station will help to make reliable, on time journeys available for everybody.

“We know that people want to travel by train, so we’ve made sure that passengers can stay on track via a resilient diversion through Wakefield, and we’ve also worked with train operators to offer replacement buses too.”

Chris Nutton, Major Projects Director for TransPennine Express said: “As major upgrade work takes place for Morley station in February, as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, there will some service alterations for TransPennine Express services. Customers are advised to allow for additional time to travel and to check carefully for the latest service alterations before they travel on our website  www.tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates/changes-to-train-times; updates will also be available on our social media channels. In addition, extra support will be available for customers from Customer Delivery Managers who will be on hand to assist customers with their journeys.”

Rob Warnes, Strategic Development Director for Northern said: “We’d like to thank our customers for their patience whilst Morley station is closed for this work. During this closure, the foundations are quite literally being laid to enable us to bring better train services and improved accessibility for everybody using the station. We’re working hard to keep everybody moving whilst the station is closed, with plenty of colleagues on hand to help throughout. Our advice to our customers is to check before they travel.”

The Transpennine Route Upgrade is set to revolutionise rail across the north of England by delivering a fully electrified railway between Manchester and York, improving stations along the route and upgrading a number of bridges and level crossings.

ENDS