Weeks of disruption has ended for rail users between York and Leeds – and the result will mean “faster, greener, more frequent services across the North”.
Work on the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) between the cities started on Christmas Eve and finished yesterday, 32 days later.
During the work, services were cancelled and there will be a lot of rail replacement buses. Most trains didn’t call at Wakefield, Westgate and Leeds.
Hundreds of people worked on the upgrade, which included installing 70 new signals, 3km of track renewed and along with eleven switches and crossings.
Church Fenton was the centre of activity, with tracks through the area remodelled and platforms 3 and 4 at the station re-aligned.
That means the overall line speed increases here in the future, reducing journey times.
The installation of a new passing loop will also enable direct services to overtake stopping ones, increasing capacity to allow more trains to run.
TRU Managing Director James Richardson said: “It’s great to have completed these critical railway upgrades, between Leeds and York. Facing all weathers, our teams worked around the clock during the Christmas period and through January, delivering a host of improvements for passengers, safely and on time.
“Our work highlights the impact we are making in transforming the railway in the North of England, helping to enable economic growth, while building future capability for major projects.
“We have had a strong start to the year, and 2026 will have even more benefits being delivered for passengers. We’d like to thank customers and our local communities for their understanding, as we completed this essential work.”
