PROJECT bosses have revealed details of how much progress has been made so far on the huge Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) - including the excavation of 67,000 tonnes of earth at Ravensthorpe.
But questions have been raised as to whether or not a new temporary station will be provided during future lengthy closures of Huddersfield Station, with the TRU team now exploring the "best options" to keep passengers moving during those closures.
A vast amount of railway engineering work has been taking place in West Yorkshire in recent months in areas such as Morley, Ravensthorpe, Mirfield, Heaton Lodge Junction and Huddersfield.
The full multi-billion pound project is designed to improve services between Manchester and Leeds, with a fully-electrified line, accessible stations and more frequent services.
Amid continuing disruption caused by a series of line closures, the Telegraph & Argus asked for some facts and figures to show what had been achieved so far.
Ravensthorpe
In total, the TRU team will excavate about 130,000m3 of earth as part of an ambitious plan to relocate the station and to realign the line and install new track to reduce conflict between trains.
A complex piece of engineering is needed to create a grade-separated junction, sometimes called a 'flyover' to enable the fast and slow trains to pass over the existing Wakefield lines and cross the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation in this area.
A TRU spokesperson said: "We have excavated around 39,000m3 /ca. 67,000 tonnes so far.
"This will not go to landfill as the majority it is being classified and reused at the Ravensthorpe Triangle – an area just East of the station – the top and sub-soils generated at the beginning of the project will also be reinstated in the future.
"We’re building a new station 300m to the west of its current location and installing an island platform so longer trains will be able to stop at the station, meaning more space and seats for passengers.
"A new footbridge with lifts will be installed for full station accessibility.
"The number of tracks through the area will be increased from three to four to enable more trains to run, more smoothly."
Mirfield
Major works have been taking place at Mirfield station to bring passengers a number of benefits in the future, which include longer platforms that will enable longer trains with more seats to call at the station, additional waiting shelters and step-free access via lifts and a new footbridge.
A TRU spokesperson said: "Platform 2 was closed and has subsequently been demolished
"The track through platform 2 (Up Huddersfield Fast) was renewed and slewed south by ~4m away from the old platform. Both of these activities have created the space for the new platform to be constructed on the new alignment, and the formation works for the new track alignment to begin."
Meanwhile, the first stage of the Station Road bridge reconstruction has begun.
The first part of a three stage track construction stage also began recently, with 250m of formation being installed. This will eventually have the new track installed which will service the new platform 2.
Sheet piling for the new station entrance and concourse on the opposite side of Station Road has been completed.
Platform riser wall construction has begun for the new platform 2 on top of the track foundation laid.
Huddersfield Viaduct
Work is being undertaken to strengthen Huddersfield viaduct, in advance of new track being built over the structure.
East of Huddersfield Station, a four-track railway is to be reinstated from the Huddersfield viaduct across the scheme area to the west of Westtown, Dewsbury. This will allow for the segregation of fast and slow trains.
Recent road closures provided access for the team to complete ground excavations and concrete pouring work, as part of the reinforcements.
A TRU spokesperson said: "There are 47 span over the viaduct that require strengthening to support the future increased capacity and speed increases along this line as well as the new fast line installation.
"Ongoing works along the viaduct will be completed by 2025."
Hillhouse, near Huddersfield
For several years, it has been anticipated that a temporary station would be provided at Hillhouse to allow services to continue running during the upcoming lengthy closures of Huddersfield Station - although this now looks less certain than once thought.
Network Rail planning docuements submitted in 2021 stated that a "new temporary platform would be constructed at Hillhouse; this will enable passenger train services to continue to operate during the planned closures (blockade) at Huddersfield Station during the construction phase."
Intense work has been taking place at Hillhouse, where overnight stabling sidings will also be constructed to replace the removed sidings provision at Huddersfield Station.
However, there have been rumours circulating that a temporary station may no longer be the certainty it once appeared to be. The T&A put this to the TRU team, who said: "As for Hillhouse temporary station, we’re exploring the best options to keep passengers moving while we continue our major upgrade of Huddersfield station.
"We’ll present those options as soon as possible."
Morley
Over 3000m of new track was installed recently between Morley and Cottingley stations in the Leeds area, while work was carried out on over 13,000m of cables for signalling upgrades.
Five redundant signal bases were also removed and work was undertaken to the platforms at Morley station.
Through collaboration between Network Rail, Northern and TransPennine Express, diversionary routes and replacement buses were used to keep passengers on the move during the work.
Jonathan Hepton, Sponsor on the Transpennine Route Upgrade, said: “I’d like to thank passengers travelling between Dewsbury and Leeds over the last four weeks for their understanding and support, after train services were affected to allow us to complete these upgrades.
“The improvements are part of a wider programme that will enable greater capacity and improved accessibility at stations along the Transpennine route so that, ultimately, everybody can reap the benefits of quicker, more frequent, and greener trains across the North.”
- The T&A has also asked TRU for an update on the large works ongoing at Heaton Lodge Junction, near Mirfield, where a new stretch of 'curve' track is being installed across a green area to improve linespeed and capacity. We are awaiting a response and will provide this information once we receive it.
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