MILLIONS of pounds is set to be invested in Huddersfield railway station.
And that could mean more services as well as faster rail journeys across the Pennines.
The journey times to Manchester and to Leeds could be cut by up to 10 minutes by 2019, after news of huge investment in rail services.
Rail bosses unveiled plans to spend £4bn on the rail network serving Yorkshire in a major nationwide investment programme.
Some £10m is expected to be earmarked for Huddersfield.
A Network Rail spokesman said it was likely to mean changes to track layouts and signals in and around the station, getting rid of current train traffic bottlenecks and opening up the station for potentially more services.
Exact details of the plans are to be thrashed out in the coming months.
Last October, there were initial plans to create an extra platform at Huddersfield to offer the scope for more services.
The announcement of investment in the region was welcomed by Metro chairman James Lewis, a councillor in Leeds.
He said: “I’m sure many West Yorkshire rail passengers will be pleased to see Network Rail’s plans to invest in improving their local network.
“Platform lengthening, changes to Huddersfield Rail Station and the ability to run more services east of Leeds to relieve pressure on Leeds rail station will all help to meet the forecast increase in the number of rail journeys made each year.
“These developments will build upon the work Metro is already carrying out to develop new stations at Apperley Bridge, Kirkstall Forge and Low Moor.
“Further afield, the commitment to complete the Northern Hub proposals at Manchester, together with trans-Pennine electrification and improvements to the East Coast Main Line will all help to make West Yorkshire a better place to do business in.
“But this is only a first step. Metro will work hard with our industry partners to ensure that these vital schemes are fully funded and included in the next Network Rail five-year funding period, starting in 2014, and that we can continue this work through the Yorkshire Rail Network Study in the medium term.”
Yorkshire will benefit from £240m to be spent on reducing bottlenecks on the East Coast Main Line linking the region to London and a further £77m making the route ready for the next generation of high speed trains known as Intercity Express.
In addition, the plan sets out how Network Rail will honour the Government’s earlier promises to electrify the trans-Pennine route through Huddersfield to Manchester and deliver the £560m Northern Hub project which will add an extra 700 services daily across the North, speeding up journey times.
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