Transpennine north railway upgrade

The initial proposal in the 21st century, was to electrify the line from Manchester Victoria to Leeds via Huddersfield with some infill schemes around Manchester. This was announced in the 2011 Autumn statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The cost was cited as £290 million and the project was planned to start in 2014.[13] In the 2012 (HLOS) High Level Output Specification, it was announced there would be the addition of electrification from Leeds to Selby. In March 2015, the Chancellor George Osborne announced there would be an additional rolling programme of improvement and electrification to Hull. In July 2012, the UK government announced £4.2 billion of electrification schemes, all at 25 kV AC. The Trans-Pennine route upgrade from Manchester to York and Selby via Leeds was announced at this time. In November 2014, the then deputy prime minister Nick Clegg reported on the Coalition government's desire to see the whole route upgraded and electrified.[14]

On various parts of the route, including between Leeds and York, bridge raising and other civil engineering works were started in March 2015.[15] Other bridges in Tameside between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge were also worked on.[16][17][18] The Secretary of State for Transport at the time Patrick McLoughlin, paused the project in June 2015, stating that electrification on its own brought hardly any benefits.[19] The issue was raised in Parliament on 9 June 2015 where Andrew Jones, a transport minister, said that work to develop the scheme had been going on since 2011.[20] On 30 September 2015, the then Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin announced that the scheme had been unpaused but with a revised completion date.[21][22]

Civils contracts were awarded for various parts of the route in 2017.[23] Various local authorities have provided updates too.[24][25] On a visit to Leeds on 2 March 2018, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the upgrade would continue.[26]

The Transport Select Committee met in March 2021 and published a report in the series of 'Trains Fit for the Future" enquiry. This report recommended a rolling programme of electrification. There was also a call for the DfT to publish without delay a list of “no regret” electrification schemes and then for the industry to act on them.[49] The report also reached the mainstream media with headlines of “MPs call for a rolling programme of electrification”.[50]

On 31 March 2021, a TWAO (an order under the Transport and Works Act 1992) was submitted with plans showing the scope of the works.[51] The whole scheme document was split up into portions. Sections W1, W2a, W3, W4, W5 and E1 were permitted to proceed to the design stage. Sections W2b and E2-E4 were permitted to develop to GRIP 3 status.[52] As part of the upgrade, eleven stations along the route will require a review of options for persons of reduced mobility such as step-free access and other enhancements. W2b is the section of line between Stalybridge and Huddersfield and the final scheme scope to GRIP 3 was still being worked on. The W3 section between Huddersfield and Ravensthorpe, is proposed to include 4 tracking, grade separation and electrification has been costed at £1.459 billion. Network Rail confirmed on 26 April 2021 that piling between Collyhurst and Miles Platting would be completed by the end of 2021.[53] A total blockade took place on the route between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge and Rochdale between 31 July and 15 August 2021.[54] On 5 October 2021 Proofs of Evidence were submitted by Network Rail to the Department for Transport.[55]

The Transport Works Act Order (TWAO) published in March 2021 covered the following sections:[56][57]

• W1 - Manchester Victoria - Stalybridge (has its own website)[58] W refers to West and E to East of Leeds.[59]
• W2a - Stalybridge station general improvements
• W2b - Stalybridge -Huddersfield section
• W3 - Huddersfield - Ravensthorpe section (TWAO applied for)
• W4 - Ravensthorpe - Leeds section
• W5 - Morley station improvements
• E1 - north of Church Fenton - York (work happening on the ground from January 2021 onwards)[60]
• E2 - Leeds station improvements
• E3 - Crossgate -Micklefield
• E4 - Micklefield - Church Fenton

As there are plans for other schemes in the area such as HS2 Eastern Leg and Northern Powerhouse Rail how they integrate has been the cause of some delay.[61][62][63] On November 18 2021 the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands (IRP) was finally published after repeated delay.[64] This included a commitment to the Transpennine north railway upgrade to include full electrification. The completion date for all works was cited as 2032.[65]

The electrical power for the scheme on the west side is being provided from the grid feeder in the Stalybridge area at Heyrod. It was visited by Jonathan Reynolds, the local MP for the constituency on 27 May 2016.[66]

The latest plans in the TWAO call for a SFC (Static Frequency Converter) in the Ravensthorpe vicinity rather than a full grid feeder station.[67]

There are a number of bridges being upgraded and strengthened or otherwise modified as part of the project. In the Manchester area they include the bridge at Dantzic Street in the centre of Manchester. In the Miles Platting area, Queens Road bridge is being modified, as is the Bromley Street subway and also at Oldham Road.[68] Between Huddersfield and Ravensthorpe there will be at least twelve.[69]

A consultation has been launched with residents on the plan to close Lady Anne level crossing and Batley signal box as part of the upgrade.[70] Consultations have also been launched on three other crossings being considered for closure. These level crossings are Rose Lane, Adamsons and Poulters.[71]

As Huddersfield station is a Grade I listed building, a special design was submitted that precludes the use of headspan overhead line gantries and uses a bespoke design.[72]