Listen to this article here
|
Network Rail is advising passengers of disruption ahead of the latest phase of works on the Transpennine Route Upgrade to improve rail services between Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.
Upcoming upgrades including track renewals, environmental and ground surveys, drainage, signal verifications and construction work will take place from 24th June until 20th July, affecting weekday Transpennine Express services between Manchester and Leeds, and Northern services from Wigan to Leeds. Weekend services remain unaffected.
Passengers travelling across the Pennines from Greater Manchester will be kept on the move via diversionary routes between Huddersfield and Leeds, with rail replacement buses serving local stations in-between. Additionally, peak-time and evening local services between Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds will run between Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield only; onward services to Hull will run only from Leeds.
The Transpennine Route Upgrade is a major investment in improvement rail links East-West across the North of England between Greater Manchester and Leeds. The investment in infrastructure between Manchester and Huddersfield is set to add 1,000 more seats per hour, additional freight capacity, and cut journey times in half across the Pennines.
The work is also set to underpin the delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail, which will connect cities across the region. The Transpennine Route Upgrade is set to link with improved rail services between Liverpool, Manchester Airport and Manchester City Centre.
Work on the Hope Valley Line route between Manchester and Sheffield via Stockport to deliver similar capacity improvements has also recently completed.