Not at all. That line needs electrification.
Here's the problem with that. There was already rumours that Bradford wouldn't get a city centre station due to sheer cost of it - despite the protests of the City Council and TfN. A parkway station was more likely and with that questions should be raised.
There was never any guarantee that a new build city centre station would exist, despite Bradford City Council's plans. AS the NPR route hadn't even been agreed upon.
A preferred option. This means plans for NPR fall back to the Huddersfield option, which was never off the cards.
I view it as replacing the existing line (four tracks instead of two)
Glenn, the world doesn't revolve around Bradford. The city centre station was never a guarantee and as previously mentioned the announcement was politicking before the route was even known to them.
Complete rebuilds of stations, compulsory purchases of houses and increasing line speed to 100mph isn't just replacing the existing line.
As you well know, TfN have as much influence as you or I do. They're a talking shop and the whole Northern Powerhouse has effectively meant nothing since George Osborne was chancellor.
There simply has to be a new line between Manchester and Huddersfield, limited speeds west of Huddersfield facilitate that.
Yeah both need improving. However I reckon that the Caldervalley route will be the CLC equivalent of the Leeds-Manchester routes, with the main line getting electrified plus upgrades and new-build sections, while the Calder Valley will end up waiting.
The Bradford dead-end terminus is one of the main reasons the Calder Valley route exists, because it can serve the centre of Bradford. Are you proposing replacement by a Parkway, or the several miles of tunnel needed to serve an underground station in the centre (due to its low elevation relative to the surroundings)? That would be a fairly large cost just to save a few minutes for Halifax-Leeds (stations further west can access Leeds more quickly via Dewsbury). If it isn't part of the main Manchester-Leeds route, it would be very difficult to justify this cost.
The extent of NPR route was never detailed though. And I can't see it going through Mossley. It'll have to be a new line between Huddersfield and Manchester.
Again, until the full route is shown, this is a misguided view. Given back in November, Yorkshire Post were reporting that Bradford was set to miss out and the Huddersfield route would cost circa £13bn, it's wrong to assume that it is just an upgrade. The issues around 45mph curve at Marsden and the limit of 65mph onwards to Stalybridge can't be rectified so there would need to be new infrastructure between Huddersfield and Manchester.
A lot of us thought that TfN's preference was for a line leaving Manchester via the corridor of the existing Rochdale line as far as Littleborough, where it would enter a new long tunnel, so I think it would have benefited Rochdale at least. Some possible alignments on the eastern side might have benefited Haliax too.