Passengers that regularly travel on the line from Ravensthorpe into Leeds are being reminded that there will be no trains from Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury, Batley, Morley or Cottingley as work on the TransPennine Route Upgrades (TRU) takes place.

This closure, from Monday 3rd to Friday 21st March, will see buses replace trains between these stations, while this closure will also affect regular passengers between Huddersfield and Leeds, as trains will take a longer diversionary route between the two destinations, creating longer journey times.

Continuing on from the last major TRU closure last autumn when work on erecting 101 overhead power gantries and the replacing of 1¾ miles’ worth of track took place, this 3 week closure of this line is vital to install overhead power line equipment between Morley and Leeds.

This is to electrify the line, offering greener and faster rail travel across the Pennines in future better connecting the towns and cities of the North of England.

During the line closure, Network Rail will replace one mile of track, over 860 metres of drainage ducts, and remove the non-operational signal box at Batley.

Passengers wishing to find out how this closure will affect their journeys or to take alternative routes are requested to visit National Rail enquiries.

“This series of weekday works affecting services between Dewsbury and Leeds will enable vital upgrades to this stretch of railway.  Further installation of electrification equipment and new track takes us one step closer to an upgraded, electrified Transpennine route.

I’d encourage any passengers travelling on weekdays during this period to plan their journey ahead of time.”

Jonathan Hepton, Project Sponsor for TRU

“It’s great to see the progress that’s being made on this part of the Transpennine main line, with customers being able to see overhead line equipment starting to go up between Morley and Leeds, as well as other upgrades installed along the route that will improve the railway for years to come.

During these vital improvement works, TransPennine Express won’t be able to run trains on the line between Ravensthorpe and Leeds. To keep customers on trains as much as possible, we will divert trains between Huddersfield and Leeds via Wakefield Kirkgate, slightly increasing journey times. Rail replacement services will connect Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Leeds, and all local stations in between.

We advise customers to check before they travel. For the people who plan to travel across the Pennines, we’ll have extra staff on hand at stations to help people get where they need to go.”

Chris Nutton, Major Projects & TRU Director at TransPennine Express