On Friday 20 June,
Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) engineers completed the latest series of upgrade work between Huddersfield and Leeds. Over 3km of track was renewed, which will enable smoother, more reliable journeys, while vital drainage and tunnel work was also carried out, allowing for further track work in the future.
55 foundations for overhead line equipment (OLE) masts were installed, which will power greener, electrified services through West Yorkshire and beyond in the coming years. Site preparation work continued in Dewsbury, which will see an extension of the station platforms so that longer trains with more seats can stop at the station following completion. 36 engineering trains and 6 tampers (rail vehicles that pack railway stone around the sleepers) were deployed across this stretch of railway throughout the period to help deliver the upgrades. Work throughout the area will continue across three weeks in October.
Andrew Campbell, sponsor for TRU, said “Our engineers have worked around the clock over the last four weeks, and we are delighted to have successfully completed our latest phase of upgrades safely and on time. With work ramping up across the entire TRU footprint, we are edging closer to a faster, cleaner railway across West Yorkshire, with strong recent progress made on OLE installation in particular, which will help power electric services in the future.”
Customers were kept on the move throughout the work via diversionary routes and rail replacement bus services. Chris Nutton, major projects and TRU director at TransPennine Express, concluded: “It is great to see the progress that is being made by engineers, especially around Batley and Dewsbury, where more OLE foundations have been installed, showing customers the vital upgrades that are coming to West Yorkshire. The preparatory work in Dewsbury is an important first step in the upgrades our station will be getting in the coming years as part of TRU.”