Customers asked to check before they travel ahead of TRU upgrades

TRU engineers will be delivering upgrades between Leeds and Church Fenton on the weekends of 8-9 March, 15-16 March and 22-23 March, meaning services will be impacted on this line.

The work forms part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, a multi-billion-pound railway programme that will transform journeys across the North.

This upcoming series of upgrades includes overhead line equipment (OLE) installation, which will power electric trains between York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester in the future. Electrified passenger services are expected between York and Church Fenton this year, following their introduction between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge at the end of 2024.

The TRU team will also renew track and carry out other essential upgrades, enabling faster, more reliable trains to run through the area.

On the weekends of 8-9 and 15-16 March, trains between Leeds and York, and Leeds and Selby, will be diverted via Castleford. Local stations between Leeds and Church Fenton (Cross Gates, Garforth, East Garforth and Micklefield) will be served by rail replacement buses.

On the weekend of 22-23 March, there will be no trains between Leeds and York as TRU engineers replace two sets of points – moveable sections of track that allow trains to move from one line to another – and complete a crucial element of overhead electrification work. Trains to and from the west will start and finish at Leeds, whilst trains to and from the north will start and finish at York, with direct and all-stations rail replacement bus services running between the two cities.

Adam Sellers, Senior Sponsor for TRU, said:

“This work is vital in our delivery of faster, greener services that run on a cleaner, more reliable railway with greater capacity.

“I’d urge anyone travelling by train on any of these three weekends to plan their journey ahead of time at nationalrail.co.uk, as journeys will take slightly longer.”

Chris Nutton, Major Projects & TRU Director at TransPennine Express, said:

“The work taking place during these weekends is vital for the successful electrification of this part of the line, which will bring greener journeys and a cleaner railway to our customers.

“On these three weekends, some of the services on our North Route will run to an amended timetable, with diversionary routes being used on some days to keep customers on trains where possible. Where that’s not possible, rail replacement bus services will run to get people from A to B.

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

Additionally, track and drainage upgrade work is currently taking place between Huddersfield and Leeds on weekdays, until Friday 21 March.