Plans to electrify the rail lines through Huddersfield are delayed.
The Transport Minister has confirmed that “Network Rail has recently concluded that more work will be needed than previously planned.”
Plans are being developed for electrification of the Manchester to Leeds and York rail lines, on the TransPennine route which includes Huddersfield.
It was to be “fully electrified” between Manchester and Stalybridge by December 2016, with a “fully electrified route... provided between Manchester, Leeds and York by December 2018, linking up with the electrified lines at Leeds and York”.
But Transport Minister Andrew Jones has confirmed that more time is needed.
In a written reply to Jonathan Reynolds, Stalybridge and Hyde MP, the minister said: “Network Rail has been developing the scheme to electrify the route between Manchester and York since 2011.
“Network Rail has recently concluded that more work will be needed than previously planned.
“This is in order to accommodate the expected growth in train services, deliver the significant improvement in journey times needed to generate economic growth, and provide the best possible performance and capacity on this line.
“Network Rail has been working with the Department to ensure that this work will be planned as efficiently as possible, and we cannot clarify the completion date until the planning is completed.”
