Network Rail plans major railway upgrade in West Yorkshire

Network Rail has published its proposals for major upgrades to the railway between Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury).

These plans include doubling the number of railway tracks from two to four and electrifying the eight-mile stretch. This will allow more trains to run, improving connections and increasing capacity.

Huddersfield, Deighton, Mirfield and Ravensthorpe stations will also be improved.

These proposals are part of the wider Transpennine Route Upgrade, which will transform journeys between York and Manchester via Leeds and Huddersfield.

Following two phases of consultation for the scheme in autumn 2019 and spring 2020, Network Rail now wants to give the public a final opportunity to view the plans online and see how they have developed.

For those who cannot access the online plans, information events are to be held at Huddersfield Town football club on four dates in October.

Matt Rice, Network Rail’s route director for its North and East route, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for residents and passengers to see our developed proposals to upgrade the railway between Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury).

“This major improvement work would allow more trains to run, to meet future demand and provide better connections across the region for passengers.

“As we had to cancel our face-to-face drop-in events in March, due to the COVID-19 lockdown, we understand how important it is for people to have chance to view the proposals. To keep everyone safe, we need to limit the number of people attending these events so we’re asking people to view the plans online where possible.”