Huddersfield line
TransPennine ExpressClass 185 passingGuide Bridge in 2025
Overview
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	West Yorkshire North West England
Termini	Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Victoria Huddersfield
Service
Operator(s)	TransPennine Express Northern Trains DB Cargo UK GB Railfreight Freightliner Direct Rail Services
Technical
Line length	49 miles (79 km)
Track gauge	Standard gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map (Click to expand)Show map Legend toYork andHull Leeds Hallam andPontefract lines Harrogate,Airedale andWharfedale lines Calder Valley line toBradford Cross Country Route toWakefield andECML Farnley and Wortley Farnley Branch Leeds New Line Cottingley White Rose ( opening c. 2026 ) Churwell Morley Morley Tunnel 3369 yd 3081 m Batley BW&LR toWakefield Staincliffe and Batley Carr Batley Carr BW&LR toWakefield Dewsbury toBradford Exchange Calder Valley line toWakefield Ravensthorpe ( 1890–2025 newc. 2028 ) Spen Valley Line toBradford Mirfield Leeds New Line Calder Valley line toBrighouse Bradley Kirkburton branch Deighton ( 1871–1930 1982– ) Huddersfield Viaduct Huddersfield Penistone Line toSheffield Longwood and Milnsbridge Golcar Slaithwaite Marsden West Yorkshire Metro   Standedge Tunnels 5675 yd 5189 m   TfGM Diggle Micklehurst Line Saddleworth Delph Donkey toDelph Moorgate Greenfield Delph Donkey toOldham Mossley Scout Tunnel Micklehurst Line Stalybridge Glossop andHope Valley lines Stalybridge Junction Rly Ashton-under-Lyne Guide Bridge OA&GB Rly toOldham Stockport–Stalybridge line toStockport Droylsden Clayton Bridge Park Glossop andHope Valley lines WMCL,Hope Valley and Styal lines Calder Valley line toRochdale Miles Platting Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Victoria Manchester Exchange Manchester–Preston line Liverpool–Manchester lines Show route diagram

TheHuddersfield line is the main railway line between the English cities ofLeeds andManchester, viaHuddersfield. It is one of the busiestMetroTrain lines. The route travels south-south-west from Leeds throughDewsbury. After a short westward stretch throughMirfield, where it runs on the ex-L&YR section, it continues south-west through Huddersfield, using theColne Valley to its headwaters. The longStandedge Tunnel, just afterMarsden, crosses under the watershed; the majority of the run down to Manchester is in theTame Valley. From Manchester, services either terminate, or continue toManchester Airport orLiverpool.

In November 2011, the Government announced that this route would be electrified,^[1] to be completed by 2022;^[2] however, there have been multiple delays. It is currently subject to theTranspennine Route Upgrade, which is an element of theIntegrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands that was announced in November 2021.^[3]

At the time of the1923 Grouping, most of the route followed by the line was overLondon and North Western Railway (LNWR) metals; the exception was a short stretch around Mirfield, which was the property of theLancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR).^[4] The first section of the line, between Huddersfield andStalybridge, was opened by theManchester, Stockport and Leeds Railway on 1 August 1849.^[5] The line became part of theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway after 1923.^[6]

The route was furnished with an additional two tracks in 1894, thus giving four tracks between Stalybridge and Leeds. The loss of traffic through the second half of the 20th century saw these cut back to just two lines and the closure of theMicklehurst (Friezland) loop.^[7]

The length of the line between Manchester Victoria and Holbeck Junction at Leeds is 49 miles (79 km),^[8] though the Transpennine upgrade work covers the additional section to York which accounts for 76 miles (122 km).^[9]

From spring 2019, the whole route is being upgraded over the course of three control periods extending beyond 2029.^[10] Network Rail state that this will include doubling the track in some places and upgrading stations as well as some of the intendedTranspennine north railway upgrade.^[11] The electrification was to have been curtailed in parts and, as such, the sections between Stalybridge and Huddersfield, with a further section of 12 miles (19 km) east of Leeds, was not to have been electrified. Emphasis was placed on the bi-modal power of the new trains using the line; this necessitated using diesel engines on the unelectrified sections of track.^[12][13]

In August 2019, Network Rail announced a proposal to upgrade the track between Huddersfield and Dewsbury from two tracks to four; at the same time, they also stated their intent to electrify the line between Huddersfield and Leeds. The plans were being put out for public consultation.^[14] In July 2020, the then Transport Minister,Grant Shapps, announced a £589 million upgrade to the line, including the reinstatement of an extra two tracks between Huddersfield and Thornhill Junction, to provide four tracks between the two points.^[15] These plans were submitted in April 2021 with the expectation of a decision on whether to proceed in 2023.^[16]

In March 2022, the first step in theTranspennine Route Upgrade programme was taken. A Transport and Works Act Order to begin works for electrification, track doubling in sections and station upgrades between Dewsbury and Huddersfield was submitted; approval was expected in early 2023.^[17] The TRU is an element of theIntegrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands that was announced in November 2021. This proposal includes full electrification of the Huddersfield line and, as well as the track quadrupling between Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury), agrade-separated junction at ThornhillL.N.W. Junction, close to Ravensthorpe.

Metro (West Yorkshire) pre-paid tickets and concessionary fares are available between Leeds and Marsden.Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) fares are available for the Greenfield-Manchester section.^[18] Several of the intermediate stations listed were closed in the 1960s, as a result of theBeeching Axe, including many of those between Huddersfield and Manchester.^[19] All stations that are still open are inbold:

• Leeds
• Copley Hill Goods
• Farnley & Wortley^[20]
• Cottingley (Leeds)
• White Rose, due to open in 2024

  This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2025)

  ^[21][22]
• Churwell^[20]
• Morley
• Batley
• Staincliffe and Batley Carr^[20]
• Dewsbury: previouslyDewsbury (Wellington Road)
• Ravensthorpe was namedRavensthorpe andThornhill
  • just after the station isThornhill Junction with the L&YR. Trains from Wakefield (Westgate and Kirkgate railway stations) join the Huddersfield line here, giving connections from thePontefract,Hallam andWakefield lines.
• Mirfield L&YR junctions here toLow Moor andHalifax (theCaldervale Line): the service from the Huddersfield Line operates toBrighouse
• Heaton Lodge/Heckmondwike Junctions return the route to the ex-LNWR line
• Bradley^[20]
• Deighton
• Huddersfield Viaduct
• Huddersfield: served by the Caldervale andPenistone lines. The railway station here was LNWR/L&YR joint owned.

• here isSpringwood Tunnel andSpringwood Junction for the trains on the Penistone line
• Longwood and Milnsbridge^[20]
• Golcar^[20]
• Slaithwaite
• Marsden
• Standedge Tunnel: three parallel tunnels (two single-line and one double) 5,340 yards (4,880 m) in length
• Diggle^[20]
• Diggle Junction withline toStalybridge viaFriezland
• Saddleworth^[20]
• Moorgate (only served byDelph Donkey services)
• Greenfield
• Mossley
• Stalybridge

• Ashton-under-Lyne
• Droylsden
• Clayton Bridge
• Park
• Miles Platting
• Manchester Victoria
• Manchester Exchange: opened by the LNWR and acted as the terminus for a vast majority of services until its closure in 1969, particularly all-stopping trains.

• shared with the formerWoodhead Line and present-dayGlossop andHope Valley lines to Manchester Piccadilly
• Manchester Piccadilly

TransPennine Express (TPE) operate the majority of the passenger services over the line, as it is the core line linking the North West with Yorkshire and the North East.^[23] Since privatisation in the 1990s, local services on the route have been operated by the Northern franchise (Arriva Trains Northern,Northern Rail,Arriva Rail North and, since 2020,Northern Trains). The first incarnation, Arriva Trains Northern, also operated the express services between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, York, Middlesbrough and Newcastle before theStrategic Rail Authority spun the express train services off into a separate franchise operated byFirst TransPennine Express and, since 2016, by TransPennine Express.^[24]

At the May 2018 timetable change, the Northern services calling at the smaller stations on the section between Greater Manchester and Huddersfield were transferred to TPE; they were combined into an hourlyManchester Piccadilly toLeeds service.^[25] This also saw many of the TPE services diverted away from theGuide Bridge to Manchester Piccadilly corridor, so that through trains could use the newly openedOrdsall Chord. However, Northern still operate local services from Huddersfield to Sheffield, Leeds (viaBradford Interchange) and Wakefield.^[26] Due to the change of line on the through Manchester services, the Liverpool trains no longer run on the line throughWarrington Central, but travel viaNewton-le-Willows instead.^[27]

Six trains per hour provided by TPE in both directions run on the Huddersfield line betweenStalybridge in Greater Manchester and Leeds:^[28]

• Liverpool Lime Street toNewcastle (viaManchester Victoria)
• Liverpool Lime Street toScarborough (via Manchester Victoria)
• Manchester Airport to Newcastle (via Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria)
• Manchester Airport toMiddlesbrough (via Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria)
• Manchester Piccadilly toHull
• Manchester Piccadilly toLeeds^[29]

Anale trail has become popular along the route owing to a large number of easily accessed and nationally acclaimed pubs along the route; this includes pubs on the station platforms at Dewsbury, Huddersfield and Stalybridge. The following are of particular interest:

• West Riding Licensed Refreshment Rooms: located on the platform at Dewsbury station, 2006 runner upCAMRANational Pub of the Year)^[30]
• The Kings Head, formerly known asThe Station Tavern, in the east wing of Huddersfield station
• The Head of Steam: in the west wing of Huddersfield station
• The Commercial,The Shoulder of Mutton andThe Hideaway Crafthouse in Slaithwaite
• Riverhead, Marsden: with the Riverhead Brewery in the basement, in the town a little down from the station and tunnels^[31]
• Station Buffet at Stalybridge: an original Victorian station buffet with marble counter, on the platform at Stalybridge station)

The trail featured on theBBC'sOz and James Drink to Britain programme and consequently became very popular for drinkers in Manchester and Leeds. This has prompted some concerns over anti-social behaviour in the villages along the trail.^[32]

• Bairstow, Martin (1984).The Leeds, Huddersfield & Manchester Railway. Pudsey: Bairstow.ISBN 0-90243830-1.
• Body, Geoffrey (1989).Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2: the Northern Operating Area. Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens.ISBN 1-85260-072-1.
• Burgess, Neil (2014).The Lost Railways of Yorkshire's West Riding; the Central Section - Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield. Catrine: Stenlake.ISBN 9781840336573.
• Haigh, A.; Joy, David (1979).Yorkshire Railways. Clapham, Lancashire: Dalesman Books.ISBN 0-85206-553-1.
• James, Robin (November 2018). "Changing Times at TransPennine Express".Today's Railways. No. 203. Sheffield: Platform 5.ISSN 1475-9713.
• Nixon, L. A. (1988).Transpennine Rail Routes. Sparkford: OPC/Haynes.ISBN 0-86093-307-5.

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