Tuesday 15 Oct 2024
TRU granted Transport and Works Act Order between Leeds and Micklefield
- Region & Route:
- Eastern
TRU has reached another milestone as the Secretary of State for Transport approved a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO), which will grant the programme permission to deliver a number of major upgrades to the railway between Leeds and Micklefield.
The successful confirmation of the TWAO means TRU can press ahead with plans for this section of the route, including the replacement of five level crossings with safer alternatives, the reconstruction or removal of a number of bridges to enable electrification, and the installation of some small-scale infrastructure. Temporary work compounds to help carry out these essential works can now also be built.
This series of upgrades include the replacing of Barrowby Lane and Barrowby Foot level crossings near Garforth with an accessible bridleway footbridge which will enable horses, as well as people, to safely cross over the line.
The raising of the Grade II listed Crawshaw Woods bridge – the earliest cast iron bridge in the world still in-situ over an operational railway – will also be undertaken as part of this work.
Adam Sellers, Senior Sponsor on TRU, said:
“This is a huge success for TRU, bringing us a step closer to delivering faster, more frequent trains on a more reliable railway.
“The recent approval of this Transport and Works Act Order will enable us to complete major upgrades between Leeds and Micklefield, which will unlock a range of benefits for customers travelling across this stretch of railway and beyond.
“We would like to thank our rail industry partners for their support in getting this TWAO approval, and look forward to continuing to work with them on the next stages of work in this area.”
Full details on the Order, and the items within it, can be found at www.thetrupgrade.co.uk/leeds-micklefield
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
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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