Restoration of unique roof underway in Huddersfield station’s historic upgrade

The restoration of Huddersfield’s existing trainshed station roof has now commenced to preserve the structure, with this being one of the few remaining ‘Euston Roof’ examples on the operational railway today.
Date 29.07.24

The town’s Grade I listed station is undergoing a full redesign with the construction of new and longer platforms, with additional track to enable more trains with extra seats to stop there.

The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) has made significant progress with major rail improvements in Huddersfield as part of the multi-billion-pound project – a programme of works that will bring passengers faster, greener and more reliable trains between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.

Mining mitigation work has been completed throughout the area in recent months, whilst strengthening work has been undertaken to Huddersfield Viaduct in advance of new track being installed.

Work has also begun to carefully dismantle the station’s listed tearoom. This will be stored while the platform remodelling takes place, before being re-painted and reinstated at the station later on.

The TRU team will be working around the clock during several weekend line closures in August, with diversionary routes and rail replacement buses keeping passengers on the move.

Gareth Hope, Sponsor on the Transpennine Route Upgrade, said:

“We’re delighted at the progress that’s being made in Huddersfield. This is a key focus point for TRU that will unlock many of the scheme’s benefits, including being able to run more trains on a more reliable railway line from Huddersfield to Manchester, Leeds and York.

“From the end of July, we will be starting a period of roof canopy repairs which will involve grit blasting, painting and steelwork. Passengers may have already noticed scaffolding being installed which will enable our team to work from a raised platform above the station to minimise disruption to train travel. We will also have noise monitoring and acoustic barriers in place to reduce noise from the work as much as possible.”

Chris Nutton, Major Projects and TRU Director at TransPennine Express, said:

“It’s exciting to see the work that’s taking place at Huddersfield, with restoration works on the iconic roof set to commence, as colleagues from Network Rail continue to transform the iconic station.

“To accommodate the major upgrade works, the station will be closed on weekends between Saturday 3 August and Sunday 1 September, excluding the bank holiday weekend. While that work is happening, there will be some changes to our services, including diversions on some routes and rail replacement buses on others. 

“We’d like to thank customers in advance for their patience and would advise them to check carefully before travelling. We’ll have extra staff on hand at stations to help people who are travelling on the weekends affected by this work.”

Kerry Peters, Regional Director for Northern Trains said:

“We’re grateful to all of our customers for their patience whilst work takes place in and around Huddersfield station. We’ve worked hard to keep people on trains throughout this work, however, with some trains replaced by buses, we’d advise customers to plan ahead and check before they travel.”

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Notes to Editors

Grit blasting work at Huddersfield station:

  • TRU will be completing grit blasting work on the roof canopy beams at Huddersfield station. This vital piece of work will allow engineers to easily remove the old paint in advance of repairs and a fresh coat of paint.
  • The grit blasting work will take place on weeknights and weekend nights, from 10pm-6am, from Wednesday 24th July 2024 until March 2025.
  • Grit blasting can be a noisy activity which involves propelling an abrasive material against a surface under high pressure.
  • TRU have put mitigations in place to reduce disruption as much as possible, including installing noise monitors and acoustic barriers.
  • During daytime hours, the team will also complete painting and steelwork repairs to the canopy. 

Changes to upcoming train services:

The following services will be affected on Saturdays and Sundays during weekends in August (excluding the bank holiday), with passengers advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk before they travel:

  • 3-4 August
  • 10-11 August
  • 17-18 August
  • 31 August – 1 September

TPE rail services

  • Liverpool Lime Street – Manchester Victoria – Newcastle services will be diverted between Manchester Victoria and Dewsbury, not calling at Stalybridge or Huddersfield but calling additionally at Brighouse.
  • Manchester Airport – Manchester Victoria – Saltburn services will start/terminate at Manchester Victoria instead of Manchester Airport. It will be diverted between Manchester Victoria and Dewsbury, not calling at Huddersfield but calling additionally at Brighouse. On Saturdays only, this service will additionally call at Ravensthorpe and Cottingley.
  • Manchester Piccadilly – Hull services will only run between Hull and Leeds.
  • Manchester Piccadilly – Huddersfield (local stopping service) will only run between Manchester Piccadilly and Marsden.
  • Manchester Piccadilly – Huddersfield – Wakefield Kirkgate – York (limited service, Saturdays only) will only run between Manchester Piccadilly and Marsden.
  • Leeds – Huddersfield (local stopping service) will not run. Customers travelling from Mirfield, Batley and Morley should use Northern services between Wigan Wallgate – Leeds on Saturdays only.

TPE replacement bus services in operation:

  • Manchester Piccadilly – Huddersfield (direct). Up to every 20 minutes.
  • Manchester Airport – Stockport – Huddersfield. Hourly service.
  • Huddersfield – Slaithwaite – Marsden. Hourly service.
  • Huddersfield – Brighouse (extending to Halifax every hour). Every 30 minutes.
  • Huddersfield – Deighton – Mirfield (Saturday only). Hourly service.
  • Huddersfield – Leeds (local stopping – Sunday only). Hourly service.
  • Huddersfield – Wakefield Kirkgate – Castleford – York (Saturdays only). Limited service.

Northern services

  • The Sheffield – Huddersfield service will terminate at Lockwood instead of Huddersfield, with rail replacement running between Lockwood – Huddersfield.
  • The Huddersfield – Bradford Interchange service won’t run. TPE are running an hourly bus between Huddersfield – Brighouse – Halifax.