Rail passengers face disruption as billion-pound revamp project begins

Rail passengers will face disruption as part of the mammoth £1.56bn four-year revamp of the line between Huddersfield and Dewsbury.
An artist’s impression of part of the proposed revamp of Huddersfield Rail StationAn artist’s impression of part of the proposed revamp of Huddersfield Rail Station
An artist’s impression of part of the proposed revamp of Huddersfield Rail Station

Huddersfield Station is to be closed for remodelling for two 32-day periods between March and April 2024 and April and May 2025.

Passengers will be bussed from the station to a new temporary platform to be built a mile away on the former Hillhouses Yard off Alder Street.

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Five buses per hour – one every 12 minutes – are expected to be required during peak periods of 7am-9am and 4pm-6pm, reducing to two per hour outside those peak periods.

The platform will form part of a wider “strategic construction compound” that will also provide space for trackworks and the assembly of overhead line equipment.

The railway sidings and maintenance yard will be used for five years, starting this year and running until 2027.

It is expected that there will be 60 HGV movements each day as it is being built.

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The Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) includes remodelling Huddersfield Station and knocking down, replacing or improving eight bridges between Huddersfield and Westtown in Dewsbury, as well as widening and electrifying the line.

Stations in Mirfield and Ravensthorpe will be also remodelled.

Network Rail says it will mean more seats, more trains and faster journeys between Manchester and York via Huddersfield and Leeds.

But the improvements will also cause significant disruption lasting several years, potentially affect flagship housing schemes and lead to the felling of hundreds of trees along the route.

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Network Rail is getting underway with preparatory work in anticipation of a Transport and Works Act Order being granted by the Government.

Businesses currently using the 12-acre compound have been given notice to quit.

A report to Kirklees Council’s strategic planning committee said ballast will be stored on site and trackwork will be fabricated.

Active plant and machinery will be present including a “crawler crane” adjacent to the railway line.

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Building work includes a retaining wall of between 14ft and 20ft high and three railway sidings to stable trains at night. A maximum of 16 carriages is planned.

Two-storey buildings will be set up to house 30 staff while a further 180 workers will be bussed into the compound from the existing Huddersfield depot.

A barrier will be created to shield nearby homes from noise.