The Transpennine Route Upgrade has reached the halfway mark between Dewsbury and Leeds, Network Rail has announced.
In the past three weeks since work began on 21 October, engineers have installed 67 overhead line equipment foundations, with OLE mast installation to follow.
Other upgrades include:
-
1662m of track renewals
-
250m of drainage work
-
900m of cabling removal
“We’re really pleased with the progress we’ve made so far in completing these vital upgrades,” said Jonathan Hepton, TRU sponsor.
“Weekday work continues until Friday 22 November, where we’ll have made a big step towards the programme’s wider plans to deliver faster, more frequent trains on a cleaner, more reliable railway.”
Chris Nutton, major projects and TRU director at TransPennine Express, added: “It is great to see the amount of work that’s being done to upgrade the railway here in the North.
“The work between Morley and Leeds will pave the way for the future electrification of a key piece of the route, while the new track and drainage renewal works will improve the reliability for years to come.”
The news comes after the North of England hosted its premier rail industry event yesterday, TransCityRail NORTH.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham spoke at the event, revealing his two biggest visions for how rail can drive growth and revitilisation.
The first being the work being done locally through the Bee Network and the second centring more around infrastructure.
The rail minister, Lord Hendy, also addressed delegates at TransCityRail NORTH touching on some of the challenges facing rail in the near future, whilst also providing a light at the end of the tunnel.
Click here for more.
Image credit: Network Rail
