Castleford station: Historic train service reinstated as £720k upgrades open at West Yorkshire railway station

Last Monday (December 11), Network Rail announced the reinstatement of the rail service linking Castleford with York and Manchester.

The new service, operated by TransPennine Express with four return journeys a day, will benefit the town by providing fast, exciting and valuable new travel opportunities, including a regular direct link to York for the first time since the 1970s.

Hannah Lomas, Industry Programme Director for the TransPennine Route Upgrade, said: “The opening of the new platform and completion of the upgrade to the line through Castleford heralds a major moment in our efforts to transform travel across the North.

“It revitalises rail for those travelling to, through or from the town and also means that going forward we’ll be able to keep passengers moving on trains by diverting them via Castleford while we deliver future elements the major TransPennine Route Upgrade.”

The opening of the second platform, served by an accessible footbridge with stairs and lifts linking it to the recently enhanced station building and facilities, marks the completion of the first major station improvement scheme to be delivered by the TransPennine Route Upgrade and represents a major investment at the station, which is managed by Northern.

The improvements to the station, tracks and signalling system has increased capacity, which will boost the reliability of existing services and allows more trains to run through Castleford. This also enables the use of the Castleford line to divert trains and keep passengers moving during major upgrades on the main line between York and Leeds.

Chris Jackson, Managing Director for TransPennine Express, added: “We are delighted to announce the first direct train between Castleford and York in more than 50 years. This service, introduced in our December timetable change, will boost connectivity across West Yorkshire.

“Over the coming years, our customers will start to experience more of the benefits of these upgrades, as we work together with our colleagues across the industry to transform the railways in the North. For TPE specifically, this infrastructure enables a key diversionary route, allowing us to keep customers on the move throughout engineering works and other disruption.”