Huddersfield railway station to operate on half the platforms for 18 months following 30-day closure
Rail bosses have assured passengers that they can still use trains to get around despite a month-long closure of Huddersfield Train Station.
From Saturday, August 30 until Sunday, September 28, Huddersfield Railway Station will be fully closed as its major transformation continues as part of the multi-billion-pound TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU). During this period, there will be no train services through Huddersfield station.
The railway will also be closed between Berry Brow, Stalybridge and Heaton Lodge Junction, affecting train services to and from Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, and York.
Following the month-long closure, the station will operate using only half of its platforms for the following 18 months as part of the ongoing works.
Residents and rail passengers have been warned of the upcoming disruption, with several major roads also to be affected. Passengers will be kept on the move through diversionary routes or rail replacement buses and are strongly advised to plan their journey ahead of time via nationalrail.co.uk or their train operator website.
Brighouse will serve as the main interchange point for customers travelling to and from Huddersfield.
Rail bosses have set out what can be expected from the upcoming closure and beyond during a media briefing on August 21. They gave assurances that plans are in place to ensure that the 5,000 passengers expected to use Huddersfield Railway Station each day during the 30-day blockade are kept on the move.
Chris Nutton, Major Projects & TRU Director at TransPennine Express, said: “It’s really key for us that customers know that we’re still open for business and we want to connect people in Huddersfield on their daily journey whether they’re going to Leeds or to Manchester.
“Whether they choose to get to Brighouse by their own means because maybe they live towards that direction or whether they use our rail replacement services to link into Brighouse in about 15 minutes it’s really important that customers know they can still make their journey by rail.”
Huddersfield station will reopen on Monday, September 29 in a temporary state, with three platforms in use instead of six to allow work to continue as rail services run. From this point until early 2027, when the station work is set to be complete, there will be changes to some services, with further details expected to be announced over the coming months.
Addressing the approach taken to keep things running smoothly in this interim period, Mr Nutton, said: “It’s a huge operation as you’ve been able to see here at the station. The engineers need that period of time from the end of September through to January 2027 to complete the works, to make the rest of what’s going to be a fantastic new station for Huddersfield.
“We’re going to have extra staff on the station in the interim period when we’re down to these three platforms to keep customers supported, to make sure customers can egress and access the trains through the station in a convenient fashion. But it will be a little bit different, there will be amendments to some train times and some linkages but we’ll keep customers moving and those key journeys out to Leeds and to Manchester in normal service here once we get back to the end of September.”
While the station is completely closed, major remodelling work will take place, along with strengthening works at the Huddersfield viaduct. In addition, the John William Street bridge – which makes up part of the viaduct – will be replaced, using one of two 1,200 tonne Mammoet cranes that currently operate in Europe. Track will be renewed and signals upgraded in surrounding areas.
Sarah Padmore, TRU Integration Programme Manager, described the upcoming closure as a “significant milestone” in the project’s timeline. She explained that another blockade will be taking place at the start of 2027 to allow the finishing touches to be made, though she couldn’t confirm how long this would last.
Ms Padmore did confirm that the remodelling of Huddersfield Station is still set to be completed by 2027, with works to electrify the line surpassing this date as planned. The end result will see longer platforms, more railway lines, a new layout, new footbridge, improved accessibility features and refurbished roof structure with restored lantern.
Mr Nutton said: “We’re going to do a huge amount of work during the closure. We know it’s disruptive to customers but it’s there to improve the railway and make it more reliable and able to run more trains with more seats, more reliably.
“We hope customers can bear with us while we do the work but hopefully we’ll also appreciate we’ve all been campaigning for investment in the north for many, many years and it’s happening here in Huddersfield right now. We thank customers for their patience and hope to bring them their improved railway services in years to come.”