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Huddersfield line

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Peter Shearan (talk | contribs) at 13:59, 30 March 2005 (General notes). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Huddersfield Line is the name given to one of the rail services in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England: it is one of the busiest on the Metro network. Local services are operated by Northern Rail. The Line connects Leeds, Wakefield Westgate and Huddersfield with Manchester (Victoria), Manchester Airport and Liverpool. TransPennine Express services operate over the route.

The route

History

At the time of the 1923 Grouping most of the route followed by the line was over London and North Western Railway (LNWR) metals; the exception being a short stretch near Deighton, which was the property of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR). Thge first section of the line, between Huddersfield and Stalybridge, was opened by the Manchester, Stockport and Leeds Railway on 1 August 1849. The line became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway after 1948.

General notes

The route travels SSW from Leeds through Dewsbury; after a short westward stretch through Mirfield (where it runs on the ex-L&YR section), it continues SE through Huddersfield, using the River Colne valley to its headwaters; the long tunnel at Marsden crosses under the watershed; and the majority of the run down to Manchester is in the Tame valley. After Manchester, the line reaches the Liverpool and Manchester Railway line over Chat Moss to Liverpool.

Route details

Leeds-Huddersfield

This is the section over which West Yorkshire MetroCards are available; many of the places served no longer have rail facilities:

Huddersfield-Manchester

Manchester to Liverpool

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