Diversion route: Extra trains on Calder Valley line during Transpennine Route Upgrade
TransPennine Express (TPE) has increased the number of services on a key diversionary route between Manchester and Leeds through Calderdale to three trains per hour.
The uplift in services on the Calder Valley route, between Manchester Victoria and Mirfield via Hebden Bridge, will allow more customers to stay on trains and travel across the Pennines when there is no access to the line between Stalybridge and Huddersfield.
The aim is to keep passengers moving while the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) continues to transform the railway.
When the diversionary route is used, TPE will stop additionally at stations on the Calder Valley route, and some Northern services will run to an amended timetable.
The increased capacity comes in a busy period of TRU engineering work between Manchester, Huddersfield and Leeds, with Huddersfield railway station closing for 30 days from Saturday, August 30 for extensive upgrades.
While Huddersfield station is closed, TPE will make full use of the upgraded Calder Valley route by diverting three trains per hour, making additional calls at Hebden Bridge, Sowerby Bridge, Castleton and Brighouse.
Brighouse will function as the main interchange point for customers travelling to and from Huddersfield.
In readiness for increased rail replacement bus services running between Brighouse and Huddersfield stations, Northern are delivering a suite of enhancements at Brighouse station.
Andrew McClements, Customer Experience and Transformation Director for TPE, said: “The delivery of three trains per hour on the Calder Valley route is an important milestone for us, as it allows us to continue to run trains and getting our customers from A to B, even when railway lines are closed for major upgrade works.
"This will be vital when Huddersfield station closes for 30 days later this summer."
The boost in services is a product of continued close collaboration between Network Rail, Northern and TransPennine Express as part of the TRU Enterprise.
Rob Warnes, Strategic Development Director for Northern, said: “The ability to deliver additional trains on the Calder Valley route demonstrates the railway's ability to come together for the benefit of our customers.
"These additional services will allow more customers to stay on trains, rather than on replacement buses, whilst work takes place to transform journeys across the Pennines.”
James Richardson, Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) Managing Director, said: "TRU has invested around £100m to improve the railway on diversionary routes to keep passengers and freight moving, as the Transpennine route is upgraded.
“We’re really proud how these routes and services keep people on the move during disruption and we’re committed to delivering a more resilient railway for the future.”