Engineers complete 24-days of upgrades to railway line between Leeds and Huddersfield

A series of works to upgrade the railway line between Leeds and Huddersfield have been completed.

The Transpennine Route Upgrade programme has taken another step towards delivering faster, more frequent trains on a more reliable railway across West Yorkshire and beyond following the latest series of planned improvements between Huddersfield and Leeds.

Work got underway on Saturday, May 2 and following a range of track, station and structural upgrades, was completed on Monday (May 25). Improvements include:

• Replaced 6.2km of track – allowing for smoother, more reliable journeys.
• Installed over 50 overhead line foundation bases – supporting electrified, greener services in the future.
• Reconstructed Whitacre Street bridge in Deighton (five beams weighing 132 tonnes total) – creating more space for tracks through the area to be doubled from two to four so faster services can overtake stopping ones, reducing journey times.
• Platform remodelling at both Huddersfield and Deighton stations – increased capacity for longer trains with more seats for customers.
• Footbridge construction at Huddersfield – improving step-free access around the station.

Sophie Leishman, TRU sponsor, said: “Thanks to the hard work of our teams and the support from customers and local communities, this 24-day line closure has been a huge success. We made great strides in the upgrades of Huddersfield and Deighton stations, and made significant improvements to the railway between Huddersfield and Leeds.

“Across the programme, we are well on track with delivering a more reliable, electrified railway across the Pennines, with journey times reduced and capacity increased.”

Customers were kept on the move via almost 2,500 trains on TRU’s dedicated £100m diversionary routes. This investment has improved the resilience of alternate routes, minimising disruption during planned improvement works.

Nearly 650 Customer Delivery Manager shifts meant teams were on hand to help passengers at affected stations during the 24-day period.

Attention now moves to the TRU’s next series of major improvement works, between Morley and Dewsbury, from Saturday, May 30 until Saturday, June 27.

During this period, teams will complete a number of improvements including:

• Replacing track and drainage – to increase the reliability of services passing through the area.
• Installing OLE (overhead line equipment) masts – enabling electric trains to run in the future.
• Batley station works – improving the platforms and making the station more accessible.
• Dewsbury station works – improving customer facilities and strengthening the footbridge.
• Reconstructing Jack Lane bridge in Dewsbury – strengthening works will enable faster and longer trains to travel over the structure.

This will mark another major step towards the transformation of both Batley and Dewsbury stations, bringing them significantly closer to their completion set for later this summer.

Once complete, the upgraded stations will provide improved accessibility, extended platforms that can accommodate longer trains with more seats, and enhanced facilities for customers travelling across the North.