[Press release issued by Halifax & District Rail Action Group, on behalf of Stalybridge to Huddersfield Rail Users’ Group (SHRUG) and others. SMART is part (one third, to be precise) of SHRUG)]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Campaigners in West Yorkshire are extremely\nconcerned about lack of progress by the Government and Network Rail on\ninfrastructure proposals that should deliver improvements for travellers in the\nnext few years, including the TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU) and enhancements\nin Manchester if the railway is to honour promises made to the Calder Valley\nline and other routes across the North. Three rail user groups and the\nYorkshire Branch of Railfuture have written to Andrew Haines, Chief Executive\nof Network Rail, who was recently been quoted as casting doubt on TRU. In a\nmagazine interview (RAIL <\/em>897, 29 Jan\u20192020) Haines had said the\nscope of TRU could depend on the high-speed rail proposal \u201cNorthern Powerhouse\nRail\u201d (NPR). The campaigners, in Stalybridge Huddersfield Rail Users Group and\nUpper Calder Valley Renaissance Sustainable Transport Group, say NPR\nis decades away and will not benefit stations on regional routes that\ndesperately need investment now<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The groups have also written to Secretary of State\nfor Transport Grant Shapps MP, and to the new Chancellor of the Exchequer,\nRishi Sunak, calling for urgent, overdue projects to go ahead without further\ndelay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last August Network Rail opened consultation on proposals\nto upgrade the railway between Huddersfield and Dewsbury to four tracks (https:\/\/www.networkrail.co.uk\/running-the-railway\/railway-upgrade-plan\/key-projects\/transpennine-route-upgrade\/huddersfield-to-westtown-dewsbury\/<\/a>)\nwith separate lines for fast expresses and local services and grade separated\njunctions (flyovers) to reduce conflicts in the timetable. These proposals\nwould not only allow for faster journeys along the TransPennine route via\nHuddersfield, but also enable:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite last week\u2019s prime-ministerial announcement\non high speed rail, it is still unclear when NPR will be complete. It seems\nvery unlikely to be before 2035 and probably considerably later. In the\nmeantime the need for more capacity on classic rail routes is urgent but\nprogress on planned schemes seems to be at a halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The campaigners\u2019 letters to Haines, Shapps and\nSunak ask for TRU and other schemes to go ahead, without being scaled back, leading\nto much earlier benefits for communities that will not directly benefit from\nNPR when it comes, and in any case cannot wait that long to have their service\nimproved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The call is for significantly improving regional\nconnectivity in the next five years, making train travel more attractive for\nmore people as an alternative to congested roads, and part of the transition\ntowards low-pollution, zero-carbon transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with TRU, the groups are calling for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nina Smith<\/strong>, Chair of Railfuture Yorkshire Branch and UCVRSTG said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Trans Pennine upgrade and work to improve capacity across central Manchester \u2013 including the Castlefield corridor \u2013 must be started as a matter of urgency now. They are complementary to the longer-term Northern Powerhouse Rail, which is years away and will not directly benefit local commuters. It is not an \u2018either-or\u2019. Until these essential works are completed, passengers using local stations on the Leeds to Manchester via Huddersfield route will continue to have a poor service, as will Brighouse passengers. The poor connectivity from the upper Calder Valley to Huddersfield will continue, and the Calder Valley line will not see the promised services to Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Stephen Waring<\/strong>, Chair of HADRAG and joint coordinator of the Electric Railway Charter (www.electriccharter.wordpress.com<\/a>\u00a0) said <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need the TransPennine Route Upgrade to restore a four track railway into Huddersfield so we can have a better service through Brighouse and the planned new station at Elland. Twenty years ago Brighouse succeeded in getting its station reopened, but the town is still waiting for a decent service, prevented by track capacity through Huddersfield and Mirfield. The TransPennine Route Upgrade opens up massive possibilities but now we are worried the Chief Executive of Network Rail is questioning the amount of 4-tracking. We need that full scheme.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd we need full electrification. It\u2019s just about 5 years since the Northern Electrification Task Force effectively proposed a rolling programme of electrification across the North. Strategic routes across the Pennines including our Calder Valley Line need to be wired if we are to create a modern, reliable, zero-carbon transport system. The Electric Railway Charter will keep up the campaign.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Mark Ashmore<\/strong>, Chair of SHRUG said <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith the banning of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2035\/40, and the government\u2019s commitment to the UK becoming carbon neutral by 2050 the need for full electrification of the trans-Pennine route from Manchester to Huddersfield, Leeds and York, along with more four-tracking, has never been more necessary.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [Press release issued by Halifax & District Rail Action Group, on behalf of Stalybridge to Huddersfield Rail Users’ Group (SHRUG) and others. SMART is part (one third, to be precise) of SHRUG)] Campaigners in West Yorkshire are extremely concerned about … Continue reading