Rail passengers told to plan as key route closes

Rail passengers across Yorkshire are being encouraged to check before travelling by train as part of the main rail route linking Leeds and York closes.

Thirty-two days of engineering works are taking place in the area around Church Fenton in North Yorkshire, as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU).

From 25 December to 3 January, no trains will run on that route between the two cities, with a diversion in place from 4 January to 25 January.

Adam Sellers, senior sponsor for TRU at Network Rail, said: "We do try and aim that should be able to use the railway for as much of their journey as they possibly can and still go about their normal daily lives."

"There's never a good time for us to deliver these works, but we do target it at the quietest times of the year," he added.

He said the "majority of the most intense work" would take place on 25 and 26 December, when traditionally, no trains run across the network.

Services between Leeds and York are operated by Northern, TransPennine Express (TPE) and CrossCountry, with all three companies impacted.

However, slower services run by Northern through stations such as Headingley, Horsforth, Harrogate and Knaresborough are not affected.

There has been "extensive collaboration" between the operators and Network Rail, according to Northern strategic development director Rob Warnes.

"Planning for this will started over a year ago," he said, explaining the work was split into phases.

In all three phases,CrossCountry will run fewer services between Wakefield Westgate and Leeds, with no trains between Leeds and York.

Most of its services between Birmingham and Edinburgh will go from Sheffield to York via Doncaster, with no timetable changes for those stations.

In thefirst phase, from 25 December to 11:30 GMT on 29 December, no Northern trains will run on the Leeds-Selby, Leeds-York, York-Selby and York-Sheffield routes.

In addition, trains from Blackpool and Halifax to York, via Bradford, will run to Leeds not York, while trains from Bridlington and Hull to York will start and end at Selby.

TPE services will operate from the North East to York, Hull to Selby and the North West to either Leeds or Wakefield Kirkgate.

Replacement buses will run between Leeds and York, Leeds and Selby, Wakefield Kirkgate and York and York and Moorthorpe, for travel to Sheffield. Many will call at intermediate stations, but not all.

In the second phase, from 11:30 GMT on 29 December to 3 January, trains from Selby and Hull to York and Leeds will re-start.

The extensive disruption was required, Mr Warnes said, as "Network Rail will need the space to be able to do some significant works around Church Fenton".

In the third phase, from 4 January to 25 January, a scaling-back of the engineering work will enable TPE trains to re-start between Leeds and York, diverting via Castleford.

Mr Warnes added: "The industry's invested over £100m in diversionary routes so that other routes can take more trains while this work is going on to keep our customers moving on trains.

"Yes, journeys will take a little bit longer but this will be worth it in the long run."

Northern's services from Blackpool North, via Halifax and Bradford, will run to Leeds instead of York.

Its Leeds-York trains will run as Leeds-Micklefield services, with replacement buses from Micklefield to York, stopping at Church Fenton.

TPE trains will run on the diversion route, leading to increased journey times.

Some will start or terminate at earlier stops than normal, affecting travel to Manchester and Scarborough.

Network Rail recommends that passengers use National Rail's journey planner to check updated timetables.

Rail operating company or third-party ticket websites and apps will also be updated with diverted trains or replacement buses.

Journey-planning tools will show when a train is replaced by a bus, often with one ticket still available for the whole journey.

The upgrade work at Church Fenton in December and January involves "quite a significant signalling upgrade", according to Adam Sellers from Network Rail.

Eight level crossings will also be closed, with plans to build new bridges instead.

"We'll also be delivering a remodelling of the track in the Church Fenton area, which will give greater capacity for services passing through."

The work is part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, a project aimed at making journeys between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York more reliable.

"We will be electrifying the railway and we will be speeding up journeys," said Mr Sellers.

Planning had been ongoing for "quite a few years" with work happening on the ground since 2021 and expected to last another five to 10 years, he added.

"We're all well aware if we've taken that journey that there are often delays, there are often slow journeys and possibly even challenges with getting a seat.

"What the Transpennine Route Upgrade is here to do is address all of those challenges."

He said that would mean passengers on the route should "be able to get a seat from a clean station that's accessible and also be able to guarantee that their journey will be on or pretty much on time".

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