Transpennine Route Upgrade and Electrification updates

Passengers to be kept on the move during major railway improvement works around Manchester - Network Rail

Next month, railway engineers will be undertaking a two-week, round-the-clock improvement blitz between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale and Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge.

www.networkrail.co.uk

Next month, railway engineers will be undertaking a two-week, round-the-clock improvement blitz between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale and Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge.

Improvements are planned Saturday 31 July – Sunday 15 August as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU). TRU is a multi-billion-pound programme of railway upgrades that will radically improve connectivity in the North of England – providing faster, more reliable services for passengers travelling between York, Leeds and Manchester.

The majority of passengers will be kept on the move by diverting trains onto different railway lines between Yorkshire and Manchester.

Some journeys may need to be completed partly by bus, primarily between Rochdale and Manchester Victoria. The latest, state-of-the-art buses will be available to passengers so they can travel in comfort throughout.

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snowball said:

Press release from last Friday. I don't think it contains much new.

Passengers to be kept on the move during major railway improvement works around Manchester - Network Rail

Next month, railway engineers will be undertaking a two-week, round-the-clock improvement blitz between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale and Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge.

www.networkrail.co.uk

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Kieran1990 said:

Sadly no timetables up or Journey planners updated yet for the changes. Trying to plan a trip to Liverpool for work and a further trip to Manchester from Leeds as well

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Kieran1990 said:

Sadly no timetables up or Journey planners updated yet for the changes. Trying to plan a trip to Liverpool for work and a further trip to Manchester from Leeds as well

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twin turbo said:

Not heard any reports on Ulleskelf but am aware that Murphy's are now setting up a big compound on the site of the old Gasgoine wood coal mine as a base for supplying equipment etc to other sites and are expected to be there for many years suggesting a lot to come.

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snowball said:

RAIL magazine #933 has a small paragraph on p.26 about the upcoming blockade out of Victoria. It mentions 5 bridges that will be worked on, the four that we have heard of plus Stamford Street, Ashton-u-L.

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59CosG95 said:

Is the bridge you're referring to the footbridge at Rose Lane, or the road bridge at Common Lane? At the very least, Rose Lane FB would need to be rebuilt - Common Lane is a trickier one as it's the main road through the village. Surge Diverters (as used in Cardiff) may be required, or, perhaps more likely, the new highway & flyover could act as a southern bypass to the village, crossing over both the Leeds & Normanton lines south of CF Sth Jn, linking Common Ln (west of the village) to Ash Lane.

This new bypass could then be used as a diversionary route for road traffic, with a temporary pedestrian bridge (as used on Werrington Grade Separation (at Lincoln Rd), MMLE (at Bedford Bromham Rd), EGIP (Kerse Rd, Stirling) and many other projects) used adjacent to Common Lane at the station throat.

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twin turbo said:

A few residents and land owners have now had a zoom meeting with Network Rail and they have confirmed that they are looking at putting in a new highway and flyover off common lane near the entrance to Pouter's yard. The flyover would cross near the unmanned crossing to Pouter's land giving access to Rose Lane on the left and also Adamson's land to the right, work is expected to start in two years time.

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Roast Veg said:

Forgive my ignorace, but is "Pouter's land" the field to the west, and "Adamson's land" the field on the east?

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59CosG95 said:

Other way around I think; Poulters UWC is at 11m 14ch & Adamsons UWC is at 11m 36ch. Also, the road would (from what I can tell) travel in a SE-to-E curve, which adds up with @twin turbo's statement.

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superkev said:

Has any work been done on the 2 miles between Stalybridge and the existing electrification at Guide bridge junction to allow tpe trains to run on electric into Piccadilly.
Do class 80x's use electric power if they run Picc to Guide bridge junc now.?
Thanks
K

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Buspilot said:

The only bridge this can be is at Stamford Street East, Ashton-u-Lyne.

This is on the major bus route between Stalybridge and Ashton. So the bridge works will also delay the bustitution services.

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_toommm_ said:

There’s no booked work out of Piccadilly main shed for an 802. Additionally, I’m not sure whether TPE allow changeovers on the move, nor am I sure whether Network Rail would allow it on the older electrification they have going out that way.

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superkev said:

Thanjs. Do 802s not go from Stalybridge directly to Piccadilly via guide Bridge?
K

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Spartacus said:

White Rose is almost certain to replace Cottingley anyway, so isn't likely to be an extra stop.

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61653 HTAFC said:

Are they [the 802s] cleared (and equally important, do the crews sign the route?) to run into the lower-numbered Piccadilly platforms via Guide Bridge, in the event of a blockage via Ashton?

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Xenophon PCDGS said:

Which people have benefitted from having a Cottingley station in its current location? It was built by British Rail with financial assistance from the WYPTE and opened on 25th April 1988.

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61653 HTAFC said:

Are they [the 802s] cleared (and equally important, do the crews sign the route?) to run into the lower-numbered Piccadilly platforms via Guide Bridge, in the event of a blockage via Ashton?

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YorkshireBear said:

Online journey planners mostly being updated for the work at start of August. Still showing the TPE Liverpool services serving Victoria which I assume is an error.

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• 3 S1 TTC pairs up, followed by a S1 Monoboom, a UKMS Std portal, another S1 TTC pair, a second Monoboom, then 4 TTC pairs to Colton Lane O/B over both the Leeds & Normanton Lines. The monobooms likely signify an overlap.
• Over the Normanton lines, all 4 TTCs south of the overlap are Series 1 (two NOC/09/XX structures, then NOC/10/01 and NOC/10/04); the TTCs over the Leeds lines include a UKMS Std TTC (structure no. NOC/10/02) which also appears to cover the DL/UL crossover. The other 3 Leeds lines' TTCs (two NOC/09/XX plus NOC/10/02) are Series 1.
• On the Normanton side, mast brackets for the cantilevers are now starting to appear - these will be of the Siemens "SICAT SA" type seen at Stevenage P5 & Paisley Gilmour Street - Gourock. The brackets are going up on the mast legs for the Up Normanton, and on stovepipes (where fitted). Earth Wire brackets are also appearing now.

• All steelwork aside from one monoboom (the UN leg of which is now up) appears to have been installed between Colton Ln & Brumber Hill (i.e. over Colton South Ladder); the TTCs are all Series 1 except for one over the Leeds lines (NOC/10/08) and one over the Normanton lines (NOC/10/xx).
• Another structure on the Normanton side (perhaps NOC/10/11) has been fitted with a 'tongue' for a strut tie, and mounting brackets for Tensorex units facing towards Normanton/Leeds; its twin on the Leeds side (NOC/10/12?) has them too, but facing towards York. This makes me think that Colton Sth Ladder might be tangentially wired rather than with a traditional "cross contact" arrangement. Additionally, NOC/10/11's tie pile has no base plate, whereas NOC/10/12's does.
• Immediately north of Brumber Hill O/B, a UKMS 'vierendeel' portal (similar to those used on the GWML in the 1990s) has been installed, possibly for MPA use.

• South of Brumber Hill Bridge, almost all S1 TTCs appear to be up and boomed as far as signals Y745 (DL)/Y746 (UL)/Y747 (DN)/Y748 (UN).
• S1 monoboom NOC/11/03 now has in-running stovepipes over all 4 lines, and brackets have been installed on those over the DN & UN. Its overlap compadre (NOC/11/08), 3 spans south, is now fully boomed, but the strut on the Leeds side is still outstanding.
• South of that overlap are 7 S1 TTC pairs, followed by a UKMS Std PF DC portal (at a guess) for a mid-point anchor (MPA). A further 2 pairs of S1 TTCs are up south of that, along with two additional S1 TTCs on the Leeds side (NOC/12/02 & NOC/12/04).
• NOC/12/02 & NOC/12/04's twins on the Normanton side of the line (NOC/12/01 & NOC/12/03) await installation; as far as I can make out, 12/01 is another S1 TTC, while 12/03 is a UKMS Std TTC.
• A handful of masts (UKMS standard I think) are up between the Normanton lines on the old site of Bolton Percy station; those adjacent to the Up Normanton (NOC/12/05?; NOC/12/08; possibly NOC/12/11) are taller to allow increased Earth Wire heights over the RRAP at Bolton Percy. EW clamps have already been attached.
• The masts for the Dn Normanton (NOC/12/06; NOC/12/09; NOC/12/12) are shorter as they have no earth wire and will be bonded directly to the traction return rail. NOC/12/06 also has a back-tie pile north-east of it.
  The corresponding masts for the Leeds lines are S1 TTCs (NOC/12/07; NOC/12/10; NOC/12/13). Another mast (NOC/12/14) is in next to the bridge, and will support OLE over the Up Normanton.

• Between Bolton Percy & Ulleskelf, around 7 S1 TTCs, 5 S1 single track masts and a monoboom (now boomed) are up.
• Two UKMS Twin Cantilever masts (pre-fab double channels/PF DCs) are in next to the Normanton lines south of Oxton Ln; these are NOC/12/19 & NOC/12/20. A further two are up behind them; these are NOC/12/22 & NOC/12/23.
• On the Normanton Lines, south of signals Y741 (DL)/CF742 (UL)/Y743 (DN)/CF744 (UN) and north of the bridge over the River Wharfe (NOC/17N), 4 S1 TTCs have gone up (with booms).
• North of New Rd (B1223) O/B, 3 piles between the Dn & Up Normanton lines are also in place, and clearances from the railway boundary to the Dn Leeds line are tight, so I suspect 3-track TTCs will go in over the Dn Normanton & both Leeds lines (unless more piles for the Leeds lines come later). 3 more piles are up in the Up Normanton Cess, and bear 3 STC masts (NOC/14/01, NOC/14/03 & NOC/14/05)
• Within Ulleskelf itself, 3 single track masts are also in place for the Up Normanton (one between the road bridge & the footbridge, one just north of the 'Wernick Hire' welfare units (possibly NOC/14/13?), and one opposite the green Murphy containers), and a pair south of the station that are very tall indeed (perhaps to give aerial clearance over the RRAP which they sandwich).
• A UKMS legacy TTC (from the Mk3 & Series 2 ranges) is also present south of Ulleskelf station; this gives adequate signal sighting over signal CF 738 (UN). There is also, in the 6-foot between the DN & UN, a mast for a UKMS Std Portal (probably another MPA).

• Between Ulleskelf & CF North Jn, around 20 or so masts (mainly S1 TTCs) are up on the Up Normanton side. Oddly enough, a standard UKMS mast (either a PF double channel or a UC - it's hard to tell from a telephoto shot) is up north of the current CF726/CF724 gantry. It is assumed that all the masts for this have now gone up, as photos of progress are thin on the ground!
• At Church Fenton North Jn, 4 masts have gone up south of the signal gantry supporting signals CF726 (UN) & CF724 (UL); these are 2 no. Tensorex Monoboom Anchor masts sandwiching 2 pairs of S1 style hook-and-pin TTC masts. This must be for an overlap - potentially the southern limit of works. Both overlap monobooms have been fully masted & boomed.