Transformational is a word used too lightly in the communications offices of the railway industry. However, a ration of such sobriquets should be reserved for one particular project. The work on the railway linking the east and west coasts across the industrial north of England.
The growing pains of the Transpennine Route Upgrade are being felt across the entire core of the line. However, the multi-year project is progressing at many locations. The project management is tight-lipped about the finishing date, but also tight-lipped about the eventual level of benefits – which could give solace to freight operators.
Closures in the town centre
There are those eager for more infrastructure. They argue that more tracks mean more trains. However, that perhaps overlooks the other capacity advantages that the modern railway has at its disposal. While the case for more tracks is seemingly more difficult to make than, say, the case for more lanes on the motorways of Britain, the railways can be smart as well, without any compromise on safety margins – a severe criticism that has been pointed at the discredited roads policy of making emergency lanes into running lanes.
The freight lobby will continue to campaign for more capacity. However, they can be consoled in the knowledge that today’s freight formations can approach the end-to-end timings of all but the fastest passenger services. Add to that a radical signalling overall, and mixed traffic can be better accommodated on shared lines. Perhaps even the government-mandated increase in rail freight can be accommodated.
Big bridge, but bigger project to come
Perhaps most keenly observed will be the work underway in the former cotton mill spinning toen of Huddersfield. A central thoroughfare (Bradford Road and Northgate) will be closed to vehicles and pedestrians over some Sundays and full weekends between February and May. This will facilitate extensive works on the bridge that spans the junction, known locally as Huddersfield Viaduct. That will be disruptive, but it is not the biggest project to come to the Yorkshire town.
The work to Huddersfield Viaduct comes ahead of a 30-day closure of Huddersfield station between Saturday 30 August and Monday 29 September 2025, when track and platform remodelling work will be carried out. There will also be a restoration of the station roof to accompany improved passenger facilities.
Years and years and miles to go
“As the largest investment that’s ever been made into rail in our region, the Transpennine Route Upgrade will transform train travel between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York,” says a project statement. However, on the subject of timescale, there is a little vagueness. “It’s an ambitious long-term programme that’ll take years to deliver, but we’re already hard at work and things are well on track,” they say.
Meanwhile, in Huddersfield, the huge cranes will be on site for several months. There are very visible reminders that the project is actively underway. The TRU may be open-ended, but the viaduct in Huddersfield is certainly a bridge to the fore.