Friday 3 Dec 2021
Manchester railway upgrades continue over Christmas and New Year – passengers urged to check their journeys
- Region & Route:
- Eastern
- | Eastern: North & East
Network Rail is continuing with major improvement work around Manchester over Christmas, as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
From Christmas Day until the early hours of Wednesday 29 December, railway engineers will be working around the clock to upgrade track in central Manchester, install new signalling equipment at Manchester Victoria and complete the installation of a new railway bridge in Droylsden.
This will bring more reliable journeys for passengers and the new bridge in Droylsden will allow overhead line equipment (OLE) to safely run underneath the bridge structure to allow greener electric trains to run in future.
Further improvements to the track and signalling will then take place between Saturday 1 January and Tuesday 4 January 2022.
This crucial work is the latest stage of the wider Transpennine Route Upgrade which will bring faster, more reliable services for passengers travelling between York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester. It follows major work over the summer to reconstruct railway bridges, install new signals and upgrade over 3000m of track.
With no timetabled train services on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, Network Rail is taking the opportunity to make progress on the upgrades and avoid major disruption at busier times.
There will be some changes for passengers travelling to or from Manchester Victoria over the festive period and into the New Year. Most services are being diverted to other Manchester stations to keep passengers on trains as much as possible. Where this hasn’t been possible, high quality buses will run.
From 1 – 3 January there will also be changes to Metrolink services, with some bus replacements in place. Passengers are strongly advised to check their journey via National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator and allow plenty of time.
Neil Holm, Transpennine Route Upgrade Director for Network Rail, said: “This crucial work over Christmas to upgrade the track and signalling in Manchester will boost reliability for passengers. It will also allow more trains to run between Manchester and Yorkshire in future, improving connectivity across the North.
“We’re doing as much work as we can on Christmas Day and Boxing Day when there are no timetabled train services, but a project of this scale does mean there are changes for passengers over the festive period and into the New Year.
“Trains are being diverted where possible and buses are running to keep people moving. I want to thank passengers for their continued patience and remind them to plan ahead.”
Chris Nutton, Major Projects Director for TransPennine Express, said: “As crucial work begins over Christmas and into the New Year for the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), there will be a number of service alterations for TransPennine Express services; passengers are advised to allow for extra time and check the latest travel advice before they travel on our website www.tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates/changes-to-train-times; updates will also be available on our social media channels. In addition, extra support will be available for passengers from Customer Delivery Managers who will be on hand to assist passengers with their journeys.”
Chris Jackson, Regional Director at Northern, said: “The Transpennine Route Upgrade is a vital part of the future of rail in the North.
“As an industry we have worked closely to keep disruption to a minimum and our customers on the move. We are advising anyone using our services over this period to plan ahead and check the latest travel updates.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Changes for passengers:
Monday 27 December, Tuesday 28 December 2021, Saturday 1 January, Monday 3 January 2022
- TransPennine Express services between Stalybridge and Manchester Victoria will be diverted to start/end at Manchester Piccadilly
- Buses will replace Northern trains between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale, Manchester Victoria and Salford Crescent and between Stalybridge – Ashton - Guide Bridge
- Trains that usually run between Manchester Victoria and Liverpool Lime Street will be amended to run between Manchester Oxford Road and Liverpool Lime Street only
- Trains between Manchester Victoria and Blackpool North will not run. Passengers can use alternative Northern services between Manchester Piccadilly/Manchester Oxford Road and Blackpool North
- TransPennine Express services between Liverpool and Newcastle will start/terminate at Manchester Piccadilly Additional service will run between Liverpool Lime St and Manchester Airport (via Manchester Piccadilly) to enable connections
- TransPennine Express services between Manchester Airport and Redcar Central will start/terminate at Manchester Piccadilly. Eastbound, local stops between Stalybridge and Huddersfield will be picked up by this service. Services will alternate every two hours terminating at Redcar Central and Darlington
- Westbound local stops between Stalybridge and Huddersfield will be picked up by TransPennine Express services between Manchester Piccadilly and Hull
- TransPennine Express services between Scarborough and Manchester Victoria will run as a shuttle instead between Scarborough and York
- Stopper service between Huddersfield to Manchester Piccadilly will not run
Sunday 2 January
- TransPennine Express services between Stalybridge and Manchester Victoria will be diverted to start/end at Manchester Piccadilly
- TransPennine Express services will run as replacement buses between Huddersfield and Leeds
- Transpennine Express services from Scarborough will run into Manchester Piccadilly and diverted to run via Castleford fast between York and Huddersfield providing a direct Manchester to York service
- Buses will replace Northern trains between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale, Manchester Victoria and Salford Central, and between Stalybridge – Ashton – Guide Bridge
- Buses will replace Northern trains travelling out of Leeds, including to Bradford Interchange for Calder Valley services
- Passengers travelling to/from Blackpool North should use alternative Northern services between Manchester Piccadilly/Manchester Oxford Road and Blackpool North
- Trains between Manchester Victoria and Liverpool Lime Street will start / terminate at Manchester Oxford Road
- Trains between Manchester Victoria and Clitheroe will terminate at Salford Crescent. A replacement bus service will operate between Manchester Victoria and Salford Crescent.
- TransPennine Express services from Hull to Manchester Piccadilly will start/end at Leeds
- TransPennine Express services from Redcar Central to Manchester Piccadilly, will start/end at Leeds
- TransPennine Express services from Newcastle to Liverpool will start/terminate at York. Additional service to run between Liverpool Lime St and Manchester Airport (via Manchester Piccadilly) to enable connections
Track upgrades at Leeds station over Christmas
Major work is also taking place at Leeds station over Christmas on a project to completely remodel the track layout between platforms 4 and 6. The improvements will boost reliability and reduce the impact of future unplanned disruption.
There are changes for passengers between Monday 27 December 2021 and Monday 3 January 2022. Very limited services will run on Sunday 2 January.
Passengers are advised to plan ahead, check their journey via National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator and allow plenty of time.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Kathryn Muffett
Media Relations Manager
Network Rail
01904 383180
kathryn.muffett@networkrail.co.uk
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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
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