Village station suffers month of disruption

Correction:This article originally said that during the planned engineering works, Church Fenton Station would have no trains for 32 days. Although there will be no trains to Leeds during this period a number of trains are still running to York, and we have amended the article to make this clear. We have also removed an interview with a couple who spoke about the disruption, because they did so in the belief that there would be no service to York at all during the upgrade works.

Major works are under way on one of the busiest sections of railway in Yorkshire.

The Transpennine Route Upgrade engineering scheme closed the main line between Leeds and York at Christmas, with diversions in place from Monday.

For one North Yorkshire village at the centre of the work, there are no trains to Leeds for 32 days, and a reduced service to York.

Passengers using Church Fenton Station on a damp December evening told the BBC about the impact of the disruption.

According to estimates by the Office of Rail and Road, almost 160,000 entries or exits were made at Church Fenton between April 2024 and March 2025.

On average, more than 200 people take the 10-minute journey between Church Fenton and York every day.

• Rail passengers told to plan as key route closes

Rob Askew, 30, takes advantage of the "useful" railway station to travel into York or Leeds a couple of times a week.

"It's a good little station to have. A lot of villages don't have stations and a lot of stations have closed down so it's worth having."

He said the line closure was "not ideal" and he would "probably" end up driving more.

Vicki Wickham, who used to live in Church Fenton but now lives nearby, said the station was "part of the popularity of the village".

"The number of cars parked up and down the road on the way into the station probably proves how many people use it," the 48-year-old said.

Steve Lambert lives in Tadcaster, which has not had its own railway station since 1966, but he uses Church Fenton every couple of months.

"I've got some interests across in West Yorkshire, in Halifax. I've got some friends across in Halifax," said Mr Lambert, 73.

"Sometimes it's more convenient if we're going out socially particularly, to get on the train here and go to Halifax and get a train back, then no need to worry about driving or anything like that.

"People could become a bit isolated out here and rely on the railway to get them in on a more regular basis than I do."

But he said the upgrades were needed: "You've got to have a bit of pain to get some gain."

Jimmy Keinhorst agreed that the "long-term benefit" would be "worth it".

"It's been a long time coming in this part of the country if I'm honest.

The investment in infrastructure has been somewhat hit-and-miss," said the 35-year-old, who lives in Church Fenton.

He added that the station was "massively important".

"We're a small village but it's growing and growing.

"People look to Leeds and York to get into work and things. To be in the middle of two cities like that is quite handy."

Gemma Donlon uses the train a few times a month to socialise in Leeds and York, and said the station was "like a hub" for Church Fenton.

"A lot of people move here because it's so easy to commute to York and Leeds," the 45-year-old added.

"A lot of my friends get the train to work. They drop the children off at school, walk to the station and go straight to work."

Rail industry officials said the route closure had been carefully planned to coincide with the festive period, when railways were quieter, with phases to ensure disruption was reduced as people returned to work, school and college.

Rob Warnes, strategic development director at Northern, added that £100m had been invested by the industry into diversions.

"Other routes can take more trains while this work is going on to keep our customers moving on trains," he said.

"Journeys will be available, some by train, some by bus."

He said the disruption would be "worth it in the long run".

Sophie Leishman, sponsor for the Transpennine Route Upgrade at Network Rail, said: "The work being completed, which involves installing and testing 70 new signals, laying 3km of track, realigning platforms 3 & 4 at Church Fenton station and constructing a new passing loop, is a vital step towards delivering faster, greener and more reliable journeys across the route.

"We'd like to thank customers for their continued support while this work takes place and encourage anyone travelling through the area to check before they travel via National Rail Enquiries."

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