Transpennine Route Upgrade and Electrification updates

[AndyHudds]

Thank you. So that's here:

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(Links are to streetview and satellite view)

That's right, bang on.

 

[coxxy]

Is it actually for 4 tracking or is it just another alignment change for the current 2 track?

Been a few bits of track geometry altered in the area already, wouldn't be suprised if this is the same.

 

[Geeves]

Is it actually for 4 tracking or is it just another alignment change for the current 2 track?

Been a few bits of track geometry altered in the area already, wouldn't be suprised if this is the same.

Here's the track diagram (if it's still accurate) it looks to me like this really is a four track section Vs just realignment

 

[snowball]

Is it actually for 4 tracking or is it just another alignment change for the current 2 track?

Been a few bits of track geometry altered in the area already, wouldn't be suprised if this is the same.

However the purpose of such changes is presumably to make space for the future 4 track layout.

 

[bigbigcheese]

Here's the track diagram (if it's still accurate) it looks to me like this really is a four track section Vs just realignment

Is this layout not going to cause a problems when the up slow/down fast have to flat cross each other all the time? Why didn't they have the fast lines staying at the bottom (p1/2) and the slow lines staying at the top (p3/4)? Seems like an easier segregation to me...

 

[YorkshireBear]

Is this layout not going to cause a problems when the up slow/down fast have to flat cross each other all the time? Why didn't they have the fast lines staying at the bottom (p1/2) and the slow lines staying at the top (p3/4)? Seems like an easier segregation to me...

Where are they crossing each other all the time? They cross on the flat at Huddersfield ISH, they cross grade separated at Ravensthorpe. That's it isn't it?

 

[zwk500]

Is this layout not going to cause a problems when the up slow/down fast have to flat cross each other all the time? Why didn't they have the fast lines staying at the bottom (p1/2) and the slow lines staying at the top (p3/4)? Seems like an easier segregation to me...

The layout concentrates all fast-slow conflicts into 1 place - the Leeds end of Huddersfield station. I suspect this avoids potentially awkward overlaps at the Manchester end. Although how the platforms end up being used in practice may differ, as the suggestion from the layout is that there will be flexibility in the platform use.

 

[edwin_m]

Many of the trains on the Slows will be locals to/from Leeds. If these terminate at Huddersfield then the only conflict with trains is the opposite direction is at Bradley Junction, which has very few trains on the conflicting route so should be fairly easy to timetable round.

The layout concentrates all fast-slow conflicts into 1 place - the Leeds end of Huddersfield station. I suspect this avoids potentially awkward overlaps at the Manchester end. Although how the platforms end up being used in practice may differ, as the suggestion from the layout is that there will be flexibility in the platform use.

There is a stub shown on the west end of the second platform in from the top. Is this an overrun into a friction stop to avoid any overlap issues? If so then there is a good route for Up direction slow trains continuing beyond Huddersfield to cross the route of Down direction fast trains either at the east end or the west end of the station. There's some risk of short notice re-platformings of local trains to the far side of the station if they are crossed at the other end due to some disruption.

 

[snowball]

Not sure how this relates to the trackwork discussed above, but the Trackwatch page in the June Modern Railways, supposedly listing changes in March, says the up track was slued towards the up cess between 26M 67ch and 27M 10ch.

 

[zwk500]

Many of the trains on the Slows will be locals to/from Leeds. If these terminate at Huddersfield then the only conflict with trains is the opposite direction is at Bradley Junction, which has very few trains on the conflicting route so should be fairly easy to timetable round.

There is a stub shown on the west end of the second platform in from the top. Is this an overrun into a friction stop to avoid any overlap issues? If so then there is a good route for Up direction slow trains continuing beyond Huddersfield to cross the route of Down direction fast trains either at the east end or the west end of the station. There's some risk of short notice re-platformings of local trains to the far side of the station if they are crossed at the other end due to some disruption.

The 2nd platform down (what would be the Down Slow?) doesn't have a route back to the Up Main at the west end of the station so couldn't be used to move the crossing move. It looks like the stub end there is to allow a terminating Up Slow train to be signalled in while the route is set for a train from the Down Main to the top of the island platform. However I also wouldn't put too much store by the specifics of that layout given the rather odd layering choices for the different colours.

 

[snowball]

The replacement of the bridge over the A162 at Barkston Ash, postponed from Christmas because of high winds, is to go ahead next week, as predicted in #7775.

Press release:

Rail and road disruption in Selby area as Barkston Ash bridge reconstruction commences

Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is reminding passengers and road users to plan their journey ahead of time, as major improvement works are carried out between Leeds and York from Sunday 26 May to Monday 3 June.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is reminding passengers and road users to plan their journey ahead of time, as major improvement works are carried out between Leeds and York from Sunday 26 May to Monday 3 June.

The TRU team will be replacing the railway bridge deck over the A162 London Road between Sherburn-in-Elmet and Barkston Ash. The bridge, which was opened in 1869 by the North Eastern Railway, is approaching life expiry and needs replacing with a stronger bridge deck – doing so before the line’s electrification will enable more frequent, faster, heavier passenger and freight trains to run.

Adam Sellers, Senior Sponsor for Transpennine Route Upgrade, said:

“These improvement works form a major part of the programme as we take a step closer to full electrification of the Transpennine route.

“We’d like to remind passengers and road users to plan their journey in advance as train services and road access will be disrupted and thank them for their patience as we deliver these essential upgrades.”

The A162 London Road beneath the bridge will be closed between 08:00 on Sunday 26 May until 00:01 on Monday 3 June to allow for the work to take place. A clearly-signed diversionary route for cars and HGVs via the A1(M) will be in place, with further details available at Causeway one.network

We’d like to remind road users to follow the signed diversionary route as opposed to sat-nav, in order to minimise the amount of traffic on the narrow roads through the nearby communities of Church Fenton and Barkston Ash.

A minibus shuttle will be provided for pedestrians to link either side of the bridge as the footpath beneath the bridge will be closed.

The bridge deck will be replaced between Tuesday 28 May and Friday 31 May. As well as the A162 London Road closure, some trains between Leeds and York will be diverted via Castleford during these dates. Church Fenton and Ulleskelf stations will be served by rail replacement buses to York and to Micklefield for rail connections to and from Leeds. They will continue to be served by train services between York, Selby and Hull as usual.

We’re advising to passengers to check before they travel at National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator. The line will reopen to train services on Saturday 1 June.

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

“The bridge work taking place at Barkston Ash between Micklefield and Church Fenton is essential for the delivery of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

“While this work is being carried out, TransPennine Express will operate an amended timetable on our North route services and divert trains between Leeds and York via a diversionary route, with slightly longer journey times. We'd like to advise customers to check before they travel.”

This essential work was initially planned to take place during the Christmas period, but high winds meant it was unsafe to operate the large crane needed to move the bridge deck into place.

Here is a Streetview of the bridge:

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[coxxy]

Past it today, Crane is in place waiting.

 

[davetheguard]

Past it today, Crane is in place waiting.

Sorry to hear you're past it.

Hope you're feeling better next time you go passed it.

I'll get my coat......

 

[coxxy]

Sorry to hear you're past it.

Hope you're feeling better next time you go passed it.

I'll get my coat......

I hate myself for that mistake

 

[CAF397]

New platform face under construction at Mirfield Platform 2. Also new trackbed formation in place.

I wonder if when this will be completed whether the current Down Huddersfield line will be slewed to use the new platform face, whilst they rebuild Platform 1, with Westbound trains continuing to use platform 3.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

New platform face under construction at Mirfield Platform 2. Also new trackbed formation in place.

I wonder if when this will be completed whether the current Down Huddersfield line will be slewed to use the new platform face, whilst they rebuild Platform 1, with Westbound trains continuing to use platform 3.

Popped down to see what was what at Mirfield, as the picture I'd got in my head from the above description wasn't quite right. Having now seen things in the flesh, it's a little clearer.

It certainly appears that what will eventually be the up slow line, will be on an alignment that cuts through where the old platform 2 was. For some reason I'd assumed that the current up fast (which used to serve P2) would be repurposed as the up slow with only minor realignment. I can now see that this is not the case.

A few photos of the current state of play, with concrete blocks to form the new island platform partially in place. Hopefully this new island platform won't sink every time it rains like the old one did! Also a cameo from a delayed GC Voyager.




So far as I can tell, the "rebuilt" platform 1 will be the other side of the road bridge on the new island, and unless the new island meets up with what's left of the old one, there will be no access to it until the new bridge is constructed. Therefore I'd be surprised if there are any temporary arrangements in the interim that see the P2 side of the new island used ahead of the P1 side.

Though in this project, I have been surprised before!

 

[snowball]

I'm not familiar with the station but it appears from the plans that the proposed platforms will be mostly to the east of the road but partly to the west. There are links to the plans (among numerous others) on a page accessible as follows. First go to this page

Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury) - Network Rail

We’re proposing an upgrade to a section of railway between Huddersfield and Westtown to deliver passenger benefits along the Transpennine railway.

www.networkrail.co.uk

Then click on "02 TWAO Application Documents" and you get to a page which I seem unable to link directly but which has a lot of clickable links.

Relevant plans are about two-thirds of the way down the page - you can search for "Mirfield". For an overview in a single plan, the best one I've found is this one:

https://sacuksprodnrdigital0001.blob.core.windows.net/twao-huddersfield-westtown/Huddersfield%20to%20Westtown%20(Dewsbury)/02%20TWAO%20Application%20Documents/NR13%20Planning%20Drawing%20-%20Mirfield%20Station%20-%20Proposed%20Highway%20Works.pdf

 

[billio]

I hate myself for that mistake

Past it today, Crane is in place waiting.

Past it today, Crane is in place waiting.

It is a blinking big crane

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I'm not familiar with the station but it appears from the plans that the proposed platforms will be mostly to the east of the road but partly to the west. There are links to the plans (among numerous others) on a page accessible as follows. First go to this page

Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury) - Network Rail

We’re proposing an upgrade to a section of railway between Huddersfield and Westtown to deliver passenger benefits along the Transpennine railway.

www.networkrail.co.uk

Then click on "02 TWAO Application Documents" and you get to a page which I seem unable to link directly but which has a lot of clickable links.

Relevant plans are about two-thirds of the way down the page - you can search for "Mirfield". For an overview in a single plan, the best one I've found is this one:

https://sacuksprodnrdigital0001.blob.core.windows.net/twao-huddersfield-westtown/Huddersfield%20to%20Westtown%20(Dewsbury)/02%20TWAO%20Application%20Documents/NR13%20Planning%20Drawing%20-%20Mirfield%20Station%20-%20Proposed%20Highway%20Works.pdf

Thanks for posting that final link. IIRC the original plans for Mirfield proposed that access would be via a footbridge over the fast lines from the area currently used for the car park behind platform 3. When was this changed?

 

[snowball]

Thanks for posting that final link. IIRC the original plans for Mirfield proposed that access would be via a footbridge over the fast lines from the area currently used for the car park behind platform 3. When was this changed?

Having looked again at some of the plans in the Mirfield area, I think that footbridge is still in the plans, just not shown on the one I linked. I didn't really understand the relationship between the various plans, and I happened to choose one that is focused on the roadworks. I wasn't really thinking about the presence or absence of the footbridge, just about the east-west extent of the proposed platforms, in response to a remark near the end of your post #7966.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Having looked again at some of the plans in the Mirfield area, I think that footbridge is still in the plans, just not shown on the one I linked. I didn't really understand the relationship between the various plans, and I happened to choose one that is focused on the roadworks. I wasn't really thinking about the presence or absence of the footbridge, just about the east-west extent of the proposed platforms, in response to a remark near the end of your post #7966.

That makes sense. I hadn't previously noticed the entrance shown in the link you posted, which will be opposite the current stairwell to platform 1. If that was to be the only entrance it would be a bit of a pain having to walk from the car park... but if the footbridge was the only access (as I'd assumed it would be) this would be awkward for accessing Mirfield itself. Providing both will add to the cost, but not so much as a proportion of the total cost of the project. Good to see that (as far as I can tell) corners aren't being cut in a way that would inconvenience passengers.

 

[swt_passenger]

Sometimes there’s just too much info in the full set of drawings, I looked in the design and access statement (right at the end of the list of docs linked in post #7967), and found a neat drawing of Mirfield Station, here’s a screen grab from the pdf:

 

[rower40]

How long is Micklefield to Church Fenton shut for? I usually catch 1V46 (0645) from York on a Tuesday, but today it starts from Leeds, so I’ve had to get up early for 1P58 (0620) to connect.

 

[spyinthesky]

It seems to have left on time as normal

Realtime Trains | 1V46 0645 York to Plymouth | 23/05/2024

Real-time train running information for 1V46 0645 departure from York to Plymouth on 23/05/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[rower40]

The link you sent was for 23rd May. Today, it left from Leeds. With me on it!

It seems to have left on time as normal

Realtime Trains | 1V46 0645 York to Plymouth | 23/05/2024

Real-time train running information for 1V46 0645 departure from York to Plymouth on 23/05/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Train Manager tells me that "It's going to be a fun week" - as, apart from the odd starter/terminator, Cross Country aren't serving Leeds, so the crew based there have to travel passenger on other operators' services (diverted via Castleford) to pick up their trains at York.

As my first train went through Sherburn-in-Elmet, I could see the huge crane next to the Micklefield-Church Fenton line, where it looks like a bridge over a road is being replaced.

 

[spyinthesky]

The link you sent was for 23rd May. Today, it left from Leeds. With me on it!

Apologies
Edit- Deleted not relevant

 

[Phillipimo]

This cab ride from Don Coffey shows relatively up to date view from Brighouse towards Huddersfield and return showing progress on some bridges mentioned up thread.

 

[superkev]

This cab ride from Don Coffey shows relatively up to date view from Brighouse towards Huddersfield and return showing progress on some bridges mentioned up thread.

Interesting vid.
The recently renewed footbridge just south west of Deighton looks barely wide enough for 4 tracks.
Was the line between Heaton lodge and Huddersfield ever 4 tracks?
K

 

[snowball]

Interesting vid.
The recently renewed footbridge just south west of Deighton looks barely wide enough for 4 tracks.
Was the line between Heaton lodge and Huddersfield ever 4 tracks?
K

Yes, and on the section in the video, much of it will be within the original boundaries, if I remember correctly. If I remember correctly the 'ten foot' between the two pairs of tracks will be narrower than it would have been if a new line was being built on a greenfield site.

 

[Meerkat]

Sometimes there’s just too much info in the full set of drawings, I looked in the design and access statement (right at the end of the list of docs linked in post #7967), and found a neat drawing of Mirfield Station, here’s a screen grab from the pdf:

View attachment 158859

Are the black bits stairs? If so that ground level void between the stairs/lift and the road (in the middle of the island but lower) isn’t going to be very nice.