On Sunday, August 17th , engineers wrapped up a significant phase of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), completing a series of vital railway improvements between Manchester, Huddersfield, and Leeds. This marks the end of seven consecutive weekends of intensive work on the multi-billion-pound infrastructure project.
Among the standout achievements were major structural upgrades to bridges across West Yorkshire. Notably, progress was made on rebuilding the A62 Leeds Road bridge in Deighton, which is being made taller and wider. This transformation will pave the way for future railway enhancements, including the installation of overhead line equipment (OLE) to support electric trains and the expansion of tracks from two to four—allowing faster trains to overtake slower ones and reducing journey times.
In Mirfield, a 450ft crane was deployed to install a new bridge deck at Station Road bridge. The replacement of the beams has significantly strengthened the structure and extended its lifespan. This upgrade also enables the station platform to be lengthened across the bridge, making room for longer trains with more seating capacity.
Track renewal work was also carried out between Stalybridge, Huddersfield, and Dewsbury, improving the infrastructure to deliver smoother and more reliable journeys for passengers.
Efforts to create a greener railway continued with the installation of foundations for OLE masts throughout West Yorkshire. This follows the recent launch of electric passenger services between York and Church Fenton, bringing the total electrified portion of the Transpennine route to 25%.
These upgrades are a crucial step toward transforming travel across the North, making it faster, greener, and more dependable.
Andrew Campbell, TRU sponsor, said:
“We’re pleased to have successfully completed our latest phase of upgrades safely and on time. The work spanned seven weekends and involved some complex challenges, but our teams worked around the clock and have taken us one step closer to delivering a faster, greener, more reliable railway across the Pennines.
“It’s an exciting period for TRU as the scale of engineering work across the route really ramps up.”
Customers were kept on the move thanks to TRU’s Enterprise model, which ensures close collaboration with Northern and TransPennine Express. A £100m TRU investment in diversionary routes allows trains to run on a more resilient railway when other lines are closed, whilst rail replacement bus services were in operation for intermediate stations.
Chris Nutton, Major Projects and TRU Director at TransPennine Express, said:
“The works completed during the past seven weekends bring us one step closer to a number of benefits that will significantly improve the railway in the North. We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and cooperation whilst these major improvement works took place.
“We now shift our focus to the 30-day closure of Huddersfield, which will affect all our services that run between Manchester, Huddersfield and Leeds from Saturday 30 August to Sunday 28 September. I urge all customers to check before they travel during this time.”
Image credit: Network Rail
