TransPennine Express trains were diverted via Brighouse and the Calder Valley line for a month before Easter. Work was being carried out remodelling junctions at Stalybridge, a track layout that had previously been upgraded not much more than a decade ago. The effect is higher speed limits on the route towards Victoria as well Piccadilly. Which is logical since trains that don’t stop at Stalybridge are the “fast” ones to Victoria! A year ago
when the Huddersfield route was closed for engineering work the diverted trains called at Brighouse, providing an additional useful service for the town on our line as well as an alternative railhead for Huddersfield passengers. Improvements to Brighouse station had been made with more space for larger crowds to wait. This time all the diverted trains have run through Brighouse without stopping. Brighouse was the Calder Valley line station with the biggest percentage growth over more than 10 years pre-pandemic. So why is it being side-tracked by TPE now? We shall ask!
Header Image: “Enterprising Nova (i)” flickr photo by JohnTurner1955 https://flickr.com/photos/johngreyturner/48583347201 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license
Halifax and District Rail Action Group 