Community hub
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Huddersfield line
The Huddersfield line is the main railway line between the English cities of Leeds and Manchester, via Huddersfield. It is one of the busiest MetroTrain lines. The route travels south-south-west from Leeds through Dewsbury. After a short westward stretch through Mirfield, where it runs on the ex-L&YR section, it continues south-west through Huddersfield, using the Colne Valley to its headwaters. The long Standedge Tunnel, just after Marsden, crosses under the watershed; the majority of the run down to Manchester is in the Tame Valley. From Manchester, services either terminate, or continue to Manchester Airport or Liverpool.
In November 2011, the Government announced that this route would be electrified, to be completed by 2022; however, there have been multiple delays. It is currently subject to the Transpennine Route Upgrade, which is an element of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands that was announced in November 2021.
At the time of the 1923 Grouping, most of the route followed by the line was over London and North Western Railway (LNWR) metals; the exception was a short stretch around Mirfield, which was the property of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR). The first section of the line, between Huddersfield and Stalybridge, was opened by the Manchester, Stockport and Leeds Railway on 1 August 1849. The line became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway after 1923.
The route was furnished with an additional two tracks in 1894, thus giving four tracks between Stalybridge and Leeds. The loss of traffic through the second half of the 20th century saw these cut back to just two lines and the closure of the Micklehurst (Friezland) loop.
The length of the line between Manchester Victoria and Holbeck Junction at Leeds is 49 miles (79 km), though the Transpennine upgrade work covers the additional section to York which accounts for 76 miles (122 km).
From spring 2019, the whole route is being upgraded over the course of three control periods extending beyond 2029. Network Rail state that this will include doubling the track in some places and upgrading stations as well as some of the intended Transpennine north railway upgrade. The electrification was to have been curtailed in parts and, as such, the sections between Stalybridge and Huddersfield, with a further section of 12 miles (19 km) east of Leeds, was not to have been electrified. Emphasis was placed on the bi-modal power of the new trains using the line; this necessitated using diesel engines on the unelectrified sections of track.
In August 2019, Network Rail announced a proposal to upgrade the track between Huddersfield and Dewsbury from two tracks to four; at the same time, they also stated their intent to electrify the line between Huddersfield and Leeds. The plans were being put out for public consultation. In July 2020, the then Transport Minister, Grant Shapps, announced a £589 million upgrade to the line, including the reinstatement of an extra two tracks between Huddersfield and Thornhill Junction, to provide four tracks between the two points. These plans were submitted in April 2021 with the expectation of a decision on whether to proceed in 2023.
In March 2022, the first step in the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme was taken. A Transport and Works Act Order to begin works for electrification, track doubling in sections and station upgrades between Dewsbury and Huddersfield was submitted; approval was expected in early 2023. The TRU is an element of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands that was announced in November 2021. This proposal includes full electrification of the Huddersfield line and, as well as the track quadrupling between Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury), a grade-separated junction at Thornhill L.N.W. Junction, close to Ravensthorpe.
Hub AI
Huddersfield line AI simulator
(@Huddersfield line_simulator)
Huddersfield line
The Huddersfield line is the main railway line between the English cities of Leeds and Manchester, via Huddersfield. It is one of the busiest MetroTrain lines. The route travels south-south-west from Leeds through Dewsbury. After a short westward stretch through Mirfield, where it runs on the ex-L&YR section, it continues south-west through Huddersfield, using the Colne Valley to its headwaters. The long Standedge Tunnel, just after Marsden, crosses under the watershed; the majority of the run down to Manchester is in the Tame Valley. From Manchester, services either terminate, or continue to Manchester Airport or Liverpool.
In November 2011, the Government announced that this route would be electrified, to be completed by 2022; however, there have been multiple delays. It is currently subject to the Transpennine Route Upgrade, which is an element of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands that was announced in November 2021.
At the time of the 1923 Grouping, most of the route followed by the line was over London and North Western Railway (LNWR) metals; the exception was a short stretch around Mirfield, which was the property of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR). The first section of the line, between Huddersfield and Stalybridge, was opened by the Manchester, Stockport and Leeds Railway on 1 August 1849. The line became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway after 1923.
The route was furnished with an additional two tracks in 1894, thus giving four tracks between Stalybridge and Leeds. The loss of traffic through the second half of the 20th century saw these cut back to just two lines and the closure of the Micklehurst (Friezland) loop.
The length of the line between Manchester Victoria and Holbeck Junction at Leeds is 49 miles (79 km), though the Transpennine upgrade work covers the additional section to York which accounts for 76 miles (122 km).
From spring 2019, the whole route is being upgraded over the course of three control periods extending beyond 2029. Network Rail state that this will include doubling the track in some places and upgrading stations as well as some of the intended Transpennine north railway upgrade. The electrification was to have been curtailed in parts and, as such, the sections between Stalybridge and Huddersfield, with a further section of 12 miles (19 km) east of Leeds, was not to have been electrified. Emphasis was placed on the bi-modal power of the new trains using the line; this necessitated using diesel engines on the unelectrified sections of track.
In August 2019, Network Rail announced a proposal to upgrade the track between Huddersfield and Dewsbury from two tracks to four; at the same time, they also stated their intent to electrify the line between Huddersfield and Leeds. The plans were being put out for public consultation. In July 2020, the then Transport Minister, Grant Shapps, announced a £589 million upgrade to the line, including the reinstatement of an extra two tracks between Huddersfield and Thornhill Junction, to provide four tracks between the two points. These plans were submitted in April 2021 with the expectation of a decision on whether to proceed in 2023.
In March 2022, the first step in the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme was taken. A Transport and Works Act Order to begin works for electrification, track doubling in sections and station upgrades between Dewsbury and Huddersfield was submitted; approval was expected in early 2023. The TRU is an element of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands that was announced in November 2021. This proposal includes full electrification of the Huddersfield line and, as well as the track quadrupling between Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury), a grade-separated junction at Thornhill L.N.W. Junction, close to Ravensthorpe.