Transpennine Route Upgrade: milestones for Manchester-Leeds

Chris Howe explores the latest Transpennine Route Upgrade developments, and records how the railway landscape in the area is rapidly changing.

In this article:

• TRU goes beyond electrification, delivering new tracks, signalling, four tracks between Huddersfield/Dewsbury, and key station upgrades.
• Electric trains now run between Manchester and Stalybridge, with major OLE, station, and track works ongoing throughout the route.
• Huddersfield station and other key locations are being modernised for capacity, accessibility, and longer trains, with complex engineering underway.

Work to electrify and upgrade the main route across the Pennines between Manchester, Leeds and the East Coast Main Line has been ongoing for four years.

For much of that time, the only visible signs of the upgrade were the works to install overhead line equipment (OLE), which included adjusting or rebuilding bridges to provide clearance for the wires.

However, the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is about much more than electrification - the entire route is being upgraded with new track and signalling. Also, the section between Huddersfield and Dewsbury will be four-tracked and a new grade-separated (flying) junction will be constructed at Ravensthorpe to replace Thornhill Junction.

Although the project is not due for completion until the mid-2030s, key outputs will be delivered before then.

The most significant milestone achieved so far has been the installation of OLE between Manchester and Stalybridge. The wires were energised in early 2024, and after a period of testing the first electric passenger trains began operating between Manchester and Stalybridge in December 2024.

Although the whole route between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge has been electrified, the Transpennine Express Class 802 bi-mode units currently switch between 25kV and diesel in the Clayton Bridge area. The power mode is switched automatically using Automatic Power Change Over (APCO).

The system, similar to that used as part of the South Wales Metro upgrade, uses trackside devices which communicate with the train’s onboard control systems and instruct the unit to change power mode, with the change occurring while the train is in motion.

Installation of the wires between Church Fenton and Colton Junction was also completed in 2024, and they were energised in July 2024.

The first test train subsequently ran on this section in September 2024, and since then testing and commissioning has continued, with passenger trains expected to run in electric mode on this section later this year.

Huddersfield station

As part of the TRU, Huddersfield station will be transformed to provide more capacity, improved accessibility, and better facilities for passengers.

The upgrade will include construction of two new through platforms on the western side of the station. Access will be provided by lengthening the existing underpass and by constructing a new accessible overbridge, connecting the main entrance with the existing island platforms and the new island platform.

The new and existing main platforms will be 200 metres long, extended to the east to provide space for longer trains. The Penistone line platform will not be lengthened, but will instead be relocated closer to the booking hall.

Although the new elements such as new platforms, canopies and footbridge will have a modern appearance, the existing Grade 1 listed station buildings are being sympathetically restored.

For the roof restoration, Network Rail has installed a scaffold platform to provide a safe space to carry out the work, which will also allow the station to remain open.

The station will have to close to allow some work to be carried out, however. A closure is scheduled to take place from August 30 to September 29, during which time no trains will pass through Huddersfield.

The blockade during September will allow engineers to carry out track and platform remodelling work which will prepare the approaches into the station for the new through and longer platforms. In addition, a relay room will be removed and a cable bridge will be demolished.

Restoration of the roof, which has been under way for over a year, has entailed grit blasting to remove dirt and old paintwork from the steelwork. The steelwork is also being strengthened and new roof coverings are being installed.

In April this year, images were shared of the first completed section of the roof. The completion meant that some of the scaffolding could start to be removed.

To carry out the work, the Grade 2 listed tearoom situated within the island platform has been carefully dismantled into 8,000 individual pieces. Following the station’s restoration, the tearoom will be repaired and repainted, and then rebuilt in a different position - but still on the platform where it was situated previously.

Huddersfield-Dewsbury

The upgrade of the section between Huddersfield and Leeds is being delivered by the TRU West Alliance, led by Network Rail working in conjunction with Amey and BAM Nuttal.

Budget for the 13km (eight-mile) section - known as ‘Project W3-4’ - is £3.9 billion, with funding agreed by the previous Conservative government in December 2023.

The four-tracking of this section and the construction of a new junction at Ravensthorpe is perhaps the most complex part of the TRU project.

Although the route heading east from Huddersfield was widened to accommodate four tracks in the 1800s, the number of tracks was reduced in the 1970s.

Therefore, adding new fast-line tracks alongside the existing railway, and the construction of a new grade-separated junction to the west of Ravensthorpe, will be highly challenging.

The viaduct heading east from Huddersfield station is wide enough to accommodate four tracks, having been widened in 1894. However, parts of the structure are being repaired and strengthened to allow for the additional track.

For example, a new precast concrete beam was lifted into position above the A641 Northgate, to allow for the installation of new track. That work, which required a number of weekend road closures at the beginning of the year, included construction of a new supporting structure and masonry repairs to the existing structure.

With the line reduced from four to two tracks in the 1970s, much of the infrastructure to accommodate four tracks has been lost. This means that existing bridges will have to be adjusted or replaced - including the bridge which carries the railway over Red Doles Road in Fartown, which was replaced last year.

The existing layout of Heaton Lodge Junction, which connects the Calder Valley line with the Huddersfield line, won’t change significantly. However, the tunnel which takes the Leeds-bound Huddersfield Down under the Calder Valley line will have to be rebuilt to allow sufficient OLE clearance.

The new Up-Down fast lines will bypass the junction entirely, and a new set of tracks with a permissible line speed of 100mph will be installed to the south of the junction.

The pedestrian subway which crosses under the Calder Valley line to the east of the junction has been closed to allow for construction of a new, longer subway. The new subway will run underneath the existing tracks and new Up-Down fast lines. The existing footbridge from the subway over the Huddersfield Down line will also be replaced by a new structure.

In order to accommodate the new lines and longer trains, both Deighton and Mirfield stations are being remodelled.

At Deighton, the new platforms will remain largely in the same position but will be lengthened, while a new accessible pedestrian overbridge will be constructed.

The bridge which carries Whitacre Street over the railway immediately to the east of the station will have to be rebuilt, to accommodate the new tracks and OLE.

The road closed for five weeks between March and April this year to prepare for construction of the new bridge.

It will close again in August, and the existing bridge is scheduled to be demolished in December this year.

Mirfield station will retain its island platforms, which are currently very short but which will be lengthened, with a new accessible footbridge constructed.

The current third platform on the eastern side of the station was being used for westbound services throughout April, while work took place on Platform 2. However, Platform 3 will be removed in 2027 to provide the room needed to install the new Up-Down fast lines on the southern side of the station.

A section of Station Road bridge has already been replaced to accommodate four tracks. In addition, piling work was completed at the end of last year to support the new platform layout.

Work on the station remodelling is now at an advanced stage, with a significant amount of work having taken place over the Easter period. The station remodelling is due to be completed in December this year, and the new tracks will be installed in 2027.

The most complex part of the Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury) section is arguably the construction of a new grade-separated junction that will take the fast lines over the Huddersfield line as it heads towards Wakefield. The concrete box structure will be constructed adjacent to the existing Ravensthorpe station, with the station relocated 300 metres to the west.

Construction of the junction will require the rebuilding of Calder/Ravensthorpe Road to accommodate four tracks. The first signs of the new bridge structure were visible in March, with a central pier under construction to support part of a new two-span structure.

The new station will comprise an island platform with two faces, connected by an accessible pedestrian bridge to a new pick-up area located on the southern side of the station

Relocation of the station and construction of the new tracks will require the excavation of 130,000 cubic metres of material to lower the cutting to the west of Calder Road.

This material will be used to create an embankment and for landscaping within the Ravensthorpe Triangle, currently sandwiched between the Huddersfield line and the Manchester, Diggle and Leeds line, and which will be the location for the junction.

An embankment will also be constructed which will lead to a new four-track viaduct that will be constructed over the Calder and Hebble Navigation and River Calder.

Engineers have installed hundreds of concrete piles to support the embankment, which will sit on an area that was previously a landfill. Work to install the precast concrete piles was completed at the start of this year, and they have since backfilled so that the tops of the piles are no longer visible.

Although the electrification and work between Huddersfield and Dewsbury are the more visible signs of progress, a lot of work is taking place across the network simultaneously.

The railway between Huddersfield and Leeds closed for three weeks in March, causing TransPennine Express services to be diverted via Wakefield.

That blockade allowed Network Rail to renew 2,000 metres of track around Batley, as well as to install OLE between Morley and Leeds. Some 850 metres of drainage was also upgraded, and a new maintenance storage area was built close to Morley station.

Construction of the new accessible overbridge at Morley was completed in 2023 - one of the first elements of the TRU to be completed. As well as installing a new pedestrian bridge with sufficient clearance for OLE, engineering teams also moved the platforms to the east to provide better sight lines for signals as trains emerge from Morley Tunnel.

The 76-mile route covered by the TRU includes 25 stations, 18 of which will have to be modified to provide clearance for OLE and step-free access.

The next stations to be remodelled will be Mossley and Greenfield, plans for which were revealed in September 2024. The stations, which fall within works package W2B, will be upgraded with new accessible pedestrian overbridges constructed.

In addition to the track, signalling and station upgrades, a new depot is also being delivered as part of the TRU.

The new Hillhouse depot, located to the east of Huddersfield station, will have five roads to stable units, as well as welfare and light maintenance facilities. The stabling area, which will be able to accommodate up to 24 carriages, will be fully electrified.

In 2022, archaeology teams uncovered parts of the siding that were originally located on the site, which date back 174 years. As part of the excavation process, they uncovered two train turntables and a series of brick-built engine sheds.

Since then, work has taken place to construct the modern depot, and in March the OLE was installed.

The next stage will be to connect the sidings to the main line. Once connected, the depot will initially be used as part of the TRU works, and then once complete it will be used by Northern for stabling and light maintenance.

Although work has been ongoing for approximately four years, it is only within the past 12 months that the first elements of the electrification have been delivered and tangible signs of the wider upgrades have started to appear.

The next 12 months promise to deliver even more changes right across the route, with some of the larger engineering elements becoming more apparent as work intensifies.