‘Football specials’ are coaches this weekend
SPECIAL buses are being laid on to help Huddersfield Town fans travelling to Liverpool tomorrow as Huddersfield train station shuts down for the weekend.
No trains will run to, from or via Huddersfield throughout this weekend as engineering works take place on the rail network around West Yorkshire.
Work on signalling equipment is taking place between Stalybridge, Sowerby Bridge, Wakefield, Leeds and Mirfield, meaning all lines will be closed.
The only direct trains running between Manchester and Leeds will be Northern services from Manchester Victoria to Leeds via Bradford, with a maximum of four coaches on the line. It is expected to be extremely busy.
TransPennine Express has announced it will lay on up to 25 buses per hour to replace timetabled services, making the town centre much busier than normal. All will pick up at designated meeting points outside the station.
It is to add a further hourly bus to the schedule to assist football fans heading to Liverpool for the Terriers’ away game.
A spokeswoman said: “TPE has made the decision to put on an extra bus every hour from Huddersfield to Stalybridge, where customers will then be able to board connecting services into Manchester or on to Liverpool. We have also pro-actively contacted Huddersfield Town Football Club with this information”.
Network Rail says lines affected include Huddersfield, the Calder Valley line and Halifax. Northern Rail services will run between Leeds and Manchester Victoria, which can be accessed via Calderdale stations.
TransPennine replacement buses will operate between Leeds and Huddersfield, via Dewsbury, as well as Huddersfield and Manchester Airport, via Stalybridge.
The project, which will see old signalling technology ‘recontrolled’ from local lineside signal boxes to the state-of-the-art Rail Operating Centre in York, is in three stages. The first took place in August. This weekend, incorporating the closures of Huddersfield and Dewsbury stations, represents the second stage.
The third and final stage of the project, which also affects Huddersfield and Dewsbury, will take place between Saturday, January 20 and Sunday, January 21. Further work will take place on the Calder Valley line in 2018.
David Wagner takes his side to Merseyside to face Liverpool (and best friend Jurgen Klopp) tomorrow.
Town’s last visit to Anfield was in October 1971, which saw the Reds triumph 2-0.
Town have received the maximum allocation of 2,936 tickets, including 12 wheelchair pairs for the Anfield encounter. Kick-off is at 3pm. Town fans making tomorrow’s trip to Liverpool will have to take a coach with no trains in or out of Huddersfield Railway Station this weekend