Media centre

Tuesday 17 Mar 2020

Second stage of public consultation on Transpennine Upgrade continues- but face to face events cancelled

Region & Route:

Eastern

Network Rail is informing residents in West Yorkshire that eight face to face public consultation events have been cancelled in line with recent government advice regarding Covid-19.

However, the public consultation remains open, with residents encouraged to provide feedback on Network Rail’s proposals to upgrade the railway between Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury) as part of the Transpennine Upgrade.

Residents can view Network Rail’s proposals and provide feedback by visiting www.networkrail.co.uk/transpennineengagement All of the information which would have been available at the public events can be viewed online.

Network Rail has also confirmed that all engineers, designers, environmental specialists and other experts who were going to be at the public information events will be available to speak to residents over the phone and answer any queries which they may have. Anyone who has questions is invited to call the Network Rail National Helpline on 03457 11 41 41 or email TranspennineEngagement@networkrail.co.uk

Network Rail will then arrange for the most appropriate specialist to call residents back at a convenient time.

This is the second stage of public consultation to improve the eight mile stretch of railway between Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury). This stage opened on Monday, 16 March and will close on Friday, 10 April. This first stage of consultation showed that 85% of residents supported the upgrade. In this stage, residents will be asked to provide further feedback on the proposals.

The Transpennine Upgrade, is a vital railway upgrade which will see improvements to the route between York and Manchester via Leeds creating a modern and reliable railway with more seats for passengers and faster journeys, which better connect key towns and cities across the North.