It’s eight years since the what is currently called the Transpennine Route Upgrade was approved in principle. In those eight years, no construction work has started, no consultation has taken place with some of the communities and passengers most affected, and the scope of the scheme to be delivered is still unknown.
But it goes back much more than eight years.
Here’s an acknowledgement that the North Transpennine Route though Huddersfield is full and additional capacity is needed. That’s not a new concept, this dates from 1999.
A public meeting was held in Marsden in 1999, at which glossy brochures were handed out. In the 21 years since, the number of passengers using the route has more than doubled, but very little of what was proposed has been carried out.
Here’s the glossy brochure, all 28 pages of it.