Major improvement works delivered by the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) in Huddersfield have taken the programme a significant step closer to delivering faster, more frequent and more reliable rail services for customers travelling across the North.
Work took place between Saturday 19 September and Sunday 4 October, during which engineers worked around the clock to complete a series of major upgrades across the railway and at both Huddersfield and Deighton stations.
During the 16-day programme of works, teams completed:
- Installation of two new lines of track through the Huddersfield area, including more than 2km of new track, supporting future capacity improvements and enabling faster services to overtake stopping trains
- More than 1.3km of track renewals and over 900m of drainage renewals to improve the reliability of services
- Significant progress at Huddersfield station, including platform extensions, new restoration of the station’s historic roof canopy and subway extensions
- Major upgrades at Deighton station, including work to extend the platforms and the installation of a new accessible footbridge which will have lifts once complete
- Installation of more than 50 overhead line equipment masts and over 50 steel structures to support future railway electrification.
- Preparation works at A62 Leeds Road bridge ahead of its future reconstruction to accommodate railway electrification
- Signalling installation to improve railway performance and reliability
James Richarson, TRU Managing Director, said:
“Completing this latest phase of work is down to the dedication, skill, and teamwork of our teams. From infrastructure delivery to planning and keeping passengers on the move during the disruption to their journeys, every part of the programme has played a role in this latest work.”
Liam O’Shaughnessy, TRU Programme Delivery Lead for Northern, said:
“The work that has been completed over the last 16 days in the Huddersfield area is another crucial step towards delivering the benefits that the Transpennine Route Upgrade will bring for customers across the North.
“We have worked closely with our industry partners to keep customers on the move as these works have continued and we would like to thank our customers and local communities for their patience and cooperation whilst these improvement works have been taking place.”
Following this successful programme of works, attention will now turn to the next phase of delivery, including a 38-day closure of Huddersfield station starting after the final service on Thursday 24 December 2026 until Sunday 31 January 2027, reopening on Monday 1 February 2027, when engineers will carry out further transformative upgrades to the railway and station.
These upgrades form part of the wider multi-billion-pound TRU programme, which is transforming the railway between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York by improving capacity, reliability and accessibility while supporting the future introduction of cleaner electric trains.
Image credit: Network Rail
