Wednesday 12 Feb 2025
TRU to reconstruct Station Road bridge in Cross Gates
- Region & Route:
- Eastern
TRU has announced plans to rebuild Station Road railway bridge in Cross Gates between March and November this year as part of its programme of improvements to deliver more frequent, faster, greener trains on a more reliable railway.
A key part of TRU is the electrification of the entire 70-mile line between York, Leeds and Manchester to provide the power for cleaner, quieter electric trains.
To do this, Station Road bridge, which is built over the railway at Cross Gates railway station, needs to be reconstructed as it is currently too low to accommodate the overhead line equipment (OLE) which will be used to power electric trains on the route in the future.
From Monday 31 March until Tuesday 25 November 2025, the section of the southbound carriageway of Station Road across the railway bridge will be closed to enable reconstruction work to take place. One lane of the northbound carriageway will also be closed to enable work to take place within the central reservation and ensure worker safety.
Advance warning signage will be in place on roads prior to the closures, along with signposted diversions.
The Station Road bridge reconstruction follows work carried out over the Christmas period just 4km away in Osmondthorpe, where over one hundred engineers replaced an old bridge deck with a new, stronger structure that will enable tracks to be moved into a better position to allow faster, longer trains to run.
Lucy Grogan, Sponsor for TRU, said:
“Station Road bridge, which was originally built between 1830 and 1834, was widened in 1936 and again in 1953. This latest major upgrade in its life is crucial in enabling TRU to transform rail journeys by better connecting towns and cities across the North.
“We appreciate that this road closure will unfortunately cause inconvenience to the community, so we have worked closely with Leeds City Council to agree diversionary routes to help keep traffic moving, and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding. ”
Between Monday 17 February and Saturday 8 March 2025, early preparation work will take place, with utility services within the central reservation of the bridge being diverted. The road and footpaths will remain open at all times, but one lane in each direction will be closed to enable this early work to be safely carried out.
From Thursday 12 to Monday 16 June and Thursday 3 to Monday 7 July, the section of Station Road above the railway will need to be closed in both directions to allow the existing bridge to be demolished and the new bridge framework and deck to be installed. This will also involve weekend closures of the railway line, with train services being diverted or replaced by buses. The footway on the western side of the bridge will remain open during these works.
More information is available including diversion details and updates on the project’s progress at www.theTRUpgrade.co.uk/StationRoad
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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