Trains are now running through Dewsbury and Batley following a 28-day blockade to let Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) upgrade the line.
TRU renewed track as follows: Batley 615m, Dewbury 2,760m, Mirfield West 1,150m and Cottingley 753m.
Work at Dewsbury included refurbishing the footbridge, extending both platforms, adding a heated waiting room and extending canopies.
At Batley, the project added lifts to the recently installed footbridge, removed the subway, added four waiting shelters and extended platforms.
June 18 sees new track in place through Dewsbury station as workers refurbish the footbridge and platforms. TRU is extending both platforms to 200 metres. This view looks west towards Huddersfield. Line speeds through the loop (right hand track) remain at 40mph but in future trains towards Leeds will run at up to 100mph, dropping to 80mph over Dewsbury Viaduct. Trains towards Huddersfield will run up to 90mph, rising to 100mph once clear of the station. Before the work, both lines were 75mph. PHILIP HAIGH. Batley on June 18 in a view towards Dewsbury. Scaffolding surrounds two lift towers with workers also busy on the platforms. The Up Huddersfield line awaits ballast, sleepers and rail through Platform 2. Work here has removed the station’s subway which was the cause of occasional temporary speed restrictions because the subway roof was so close to the track that it caused a bump for trains. The station once had five platforms, sharing its site with the Great Northern Railway. The GN’s platforms sat on the far left, served by the line that BR closed in 1964. This left Batley with its pair of 1848 London and North Western Railway platforms. PHILIP HAIGH. Looking towards Leeds from Dewsbury on June 18 with signal SL4836 in its new position. Curves sweep the three tracks onto a viaduct as the Down Passenger Loop (on the left) merges into the Down Huddersfield line. PHILIP HAIGH.This view from Dewsbury towards Huddersfield on June 18 shows steelwork being erected for the new canopies. TRU plans to raise the parapets of the bridge carrying Ashworth Road over the railway. The tracks drop away at a gradient of 1-in-143 from the station towards the River Calder where TRU is building a new viaduct. PHILIP HAIGH.This is new canopy steelwork at the Leeds end of Dewsbury Platform 1. The arms feature motifs in keeping with the station’s existing canopies. Roof installation comes later and for this section will stretch over to the retaining wall. PHILIP HAIGH.Road-rail vehicles ferry materials from a supply train that is top-and-tailed by Class 66s at Batley on June 18. This view looks north towards Leeds. On the right sits the trackbed of the Great Northern Railway route that rose up and over the existing line before heading towards Bradford. PHILIP HAIGH.
