Transpennine Route Upgrade: Work at Huddersfield station

Firstly - it's a majestic Grade I-listed station with a historic facade and an impressive 'Euston-style' overall roof.

Secondly - it's a very constrained space because of the tunnel at the west end of the platforms and the listed viaduct at the east end.

Both those factors add to the location's sense of theatre, but are not helpful if you need to dramatically remodel the station as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU).

The railway upgrade between York and Manchester, via Dewsbury, Ravensthorpe, Mirfield and the Standedge Tunnel, was earmarked to cost £2.9bn in 2018 – but that figure now stands at up to £11.5bn.

A major challenge for project bosses was what to do at Huddersfield, where more lines were needed, longer platforms were required and the historic roof needed major attention. 

The station's listed status extends to the subway, tearoom, two original roof columns and various other elements. At the start of the project, there was even a joke that someone might try to grant listed status to the redundant Class 142 'Pacer' units that were stabled in sidings next to the station at the time.

In order to avoid rebuilding the tunnel or widening the viaduct, it was necessary to make the new platforms to the north of the station curved rather than straight - a solution train operators don't see as ideal due to the difficulty of dispatching trains if poor sight lines mean the driver cannot see the guard. This means assisted dispatch will be needed at Huddersfield in future, as is the case at other curved stations such as York, where station staff help out.

On Friday, the Telegraph & Argus was invited to tour the station to see how the project is progressing.

It was fascinating to see the attention to detail going into the roof restoration work – one of the last few remaining ‘Euston-style’ roofs on an operational railway.

Temporary raised working platforms have been lifted into place by huge cranes so workers can safely carry out work on the roof – namely grit blasting. Lifting these platforms into place was described as the biggest challenge so far in terms of the Huddersfield works.

The platforms are perched above the rails, meaning services in and out of the station can continue to run as the roof restoration work continues. As we stood on one of the platforms, John Ely, construction lead for Huddersfield station, explained how slates had been stripped off to expose the skeleton of the structure to allow grit blasting and repairs to steelwork. In the new year, brand new natural slate will be put back on.

Grit blasting is needed to remove dirt and old paint from the metal parts of the roof before it’s strengthened and repainted.

The raised working platforms are surrounded by sound proofing measures to minimise disturbance caused to passengers below by what can be noisy work.

In a further nod to the station's rich history, Mr Ely told the T&A that a new lantern structure will be reinstated to replicate the original which had been removed some time ago.

Mr Ely said the work was going "very well" and said the much improved station would be a real opportunity for the rest of Huddersfield in terms as acting as a catalyst for wider regeneration.

In stripping back a roof of this age, he said the team couldn't be entirely sure what they would find, but that there had been very few nasty surprises. The Euston Roof will be retained and restored, while two less significant canopies will be demolished.

The wider station project will see the number of railway lines increased and the platforms reconstructed to enable more trains to run on a greener, more reliable railway.

To enable longer trains to call at the station, the platforms are being extended, a move that will ultimately lead to more space and more seats for passengers.

Better accessibility to the station is another major focus, including tactile wayfinding and a new pedestrian footbridge and lifts.

A visualisation of how the restored Euston-style roof at Huddersfield station will look, with the overhead electric wires running underneath (Image: TRU) Another meticulous element of the scheme involves the dismantling and relocating of the Grade II listed tearoom to a new place on its current platform.

Built in 1886, it primarily consists of timber match-boarded panels and is one of the few timber railway buildings from this era still in use.

It was recently taken down in 8,000 different pieces, which are all being carefully stored off-site before being reinstated on the platform.

It was carefully dismantled by hand to avoid any damage.

The scheme will also see new toilet facilities installed as well as an improved customer information system including train departure and customer information screens.

A purpose-built office compound has been created at the station with capacity for 450 people and consisting of 100 10x3 metre units across five floors.

Called HD1, it acts as a 'central working hub' at this key location.

Extra care has been taken to minimise the impact on the local community, with parking arranged off-site at Flint Street, with shuttle buses to the compound. The HD1 complex helped secure a 45/45 Considerate Constructors Scheme audit score for the station works.

The new lines and platform work will lead to the loss of sidings alongside Huddersfield Station where the likes of Northern often stabled trains.

To compensate for this, work is taking place on the other side of the viaduct to install replacement sidings at Hillhouse at a site not far from the historic coal drops.

The work at Hillhouse involves the construction of five lines of track and welfare facilities to create a light maintenance depot and enable a future freight site.

It will be a fully electrified facility, enabling better flexibility and growth for the railway, with the capacity to hold 24 carriages.

Four of the five lines will be used by train operating companies, with the other being used as an engineering siding. This means the Hillhouse facility can be used as the TRU work continues in the years to come across this section of the route – facilitating many of the engineering trains that will be used to complete the work, as well as the storage of materials and parts which can be loaded onto the engineering trains and taken elsewhere.

Without a doubt, these are the biggest changes to West Yorkshire's rail network for many a long decade. The TRU, which also includes massive works at Heaton Lodge Junction, Mirfield Station and Ravensthorpe, is currently one of the biggest infrastructure projects underway in the UK, if not the biggest.

Huddersfield Station, especially its facade, was once described by renowned poet and writer John Betjeman as "the most splendid in England". From what I saw on Friday, its future is in safe hands.