Work on the Dewsbury to Leeds section of the Transpennine Route Upgrade has now reached the halfway mark, with the work set to continue on weekdays Mondays to Fridays until Friday, 22nd November.

During the past three weeks, engineers have laid the foundations for 67 masts to carry overhead line equipment, renewed 1,662 metres of track, carried out work on 250 metres of drains, and removed 900 metres of cables.

When all work on the Transpennine Route Upgrade has been completed, towns and cities across the North, including Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, and York, will be better connected with up to six fast services and two stopping every hour between Leeds and Manchester.

The current work will not affect weekend services, but some weekday services will be diverted via alternative routes while others will involve rail-rail replacement bus services.

The impact on journey times after the Upgrade is finished is that the fastest journey between Manchester and York is forecast to be 63-66 minutes and 41-42 minutes between Manchester and Leeds.

As well as improved journey times, there will be a reduced carbon footprint and improved air quality, with a saving of up to 87,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

Plans are also being developed to run up to 15 more freight trains each day, which are expected to remove over 1,000 lorries off the road.

“We’re really pleased with the progress we’ve made so far in completing these vital upgrades.
“Weekday work continues until Friday 22 November, where we’ll have made a big step towards the programme’s wider plans to deliver faster, more frequent trains on a cleaner, more reliable railway.”

Jonathan Hepton, Sponsor for the Transpennine Route Upgrade