Rail passengers warned over Easter travel changes

Rail passengers hoping to travel between Leeds and York over the Easter weekend have been warned to check before they travel due to planned engineering works.

Train operator Northern said the works meant it would not be running any services between the two cities on Saturday 19 April, Sunday 20 April and Monday 21 April.

A temporary rail service between the two cities would be run by TransPennine Express (TPE) on those dates, Northern said.

The train timetable would remain the same, with services between Leeds and York calling at Cross Gates, Garforth, East Garforth, Micklefield, and Church Fenton, according to the operator.

Any tickets bought for Northern trains would still be valid on the replacement service being run by TPE, it said.

However, Northern tickets would only be valid on these specific services and customers would not be able to use them on other TPE services.

Northern said that detailed journey times were available on online journey planners as well as the Northern app and website.

Meanwhile, rail services across the Pennines are also expected to be disrupted over the Easter weekend due to ongoing improvement works.

Amended timetables will be in place from 19 to 21 April while a new platform and entrance is being built at Mirfield station, Network Rail said.

Passengers are being advised to plan ahead, with route diversions and bus replacement services in place.

The work is park of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) and will mean more trains can run as the number of railway lines will increase from three to four.

As part of the work Station Road will be closed on Saturday, but pedestrian access to the station, Lidl and the Navigation Tavern will remain in place.

Over the Easter weekend, customers are warned of a longer walk than usual from the station to the rail replacement bus stop locations on Huddersfield Road.

TRU engineers will also be carrying out track renewals and signal testing between Huddersfield and Dewsbury during this time.

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