Passengers reminded of major track upgrades taking place over weekends in September and October

Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is reminding passengers traveling along the railway line between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, and York to plan their journeys ahead of time, as they upgrade tracks over weekends in September and October.

Over these two months, engineers working on the multi-billion-pound project will excavate ballast (railway stone) to create a new track beds, replace approximately 650 meters of railway tracks and install new drainage systems.

This essential work will enable trains to achieve higher speeds and enhance the overall reliability of services passing through the area in the future, as the number of railway tracks will increase from two to four.

While the railway line is temporarily closed to facilitate these upgrades, passengers will continue their journeys through a combination of diversionary routes and rail replacement buses.

Gareth Hope, Sponsor for the Transpennine Route Upgrade said “Between September and October, engineers will be working each weekend to upgrade the railway tracks. This work is a crucial component of our broader upgrades, not only allowing for faster train travel but also improving service reliability in the future. We are committed to ensuring a seamless transition during the upgrades, with diversionary routes and rail replacement buses in place to keep customer moving.”

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their patience and understanding while the work takes place and remind customers to check www.nationalrailenquiries.co.uk or their respective train operators if traveling during this period.”

Chris Nutton, Major Projects Director for TransPennine Express, said: “These improvement works are key to the overall modernisation of the railway that will be taking place as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, which will help deliver a faster and more sustainable service for our customers who travel between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.

 “We’d like to thank our customers in advance for their patience while this work take place. To keep customers on the move, there will be some changes to our services, including diversions on some routes and rail replacement buses on others, and we advise customers to check carefully before travelling. We’ll have extra staff on hand at stations to help customers who are travelling on days affected by this work.” The track upgrades take TRU one step closer to their vision of creating a cleaner, greener, and more reliable railway system. This will bring improved connectivity and travel experiences to passengers traveling across the Pennines.