‘Huddersfield Station closure disruption will hurt town’

Rail bosses have said a month-long closure of a busy commuter station is necessary to give passengers a facility “fit for the 21st century”, but the move has caused frustration for businesses who fear they will be left counting the cost of the disruption.

From Saturday 30 August to Sunday 28 September, engineers will carry out work to improve Huddersfield Station and make it more accessible with better facilities.

During that time, no trains will run through the station, with diversionary routes and rail replacement buses in place.

Taxi driver Suhail Rashid said the loss of footfall from the closure would have a “huge impact” and had caused “panic” among his colleagues.

Mr Rashid, who is a trade representative for the Kirklees Hackney Carriage Association, said: “We rely on that trade from the train station all the time.

“I spend about five or six hours of my day here picking up fares and a lot of other drivers are here for up to 12 hours.

“It is the main part of our business so where are we going to get the footfall when it’s shut.”

The closure will also mean that a newsagents and coffee shop on the concourse will have to shut, as will two pubs in converted parts of the Victorian station.

Development has been ongoing at the station since 2023 as part of the multibillion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) funded by the Department of Transport.

The closure will allow for work to be carried out to reconstruct and extend platforms to accommodate longer trains as well as strengthening Huddersfield viaduct and upgrading tracks and signalling.

Mr Rashid said drivers had already been impacted by weekend station closures.

“Long-term, it’s a good investment, but in the short-term it is hurting people like us,” he said.

“The station rank takes about 25 cars, so if we can’t come here, where are we meant to go? There’s not enough space to go to other ranks.”

Naurez Anjum, who works at private hire firm X Services Taxis opposite the station, said: “We have up to 40 customers a day from the station so we could lose hundreds of pounds.

“A month is a long time and it’s likely going to impact us in a big way.”

Located either side of the station are two pubs, the King’s Head and the Head of Steam.

The former was once the waiting room while the latter was the ticket offices when the Grade I-listed station, known for its grand frontage, opened in 1850.

Connor O’Brien, general manager at the King’s Head, said the pub, which is accessible via the station, would also be closed during the upgrade.

He said there had already been a reduction in people coming into the pub on weekends, especially from those taking part in the Transpennine Real Ale Trail.

“It’s not ideal and we have seen fewer customers but it is good that the work is being done and that the station is being improved.”

Huddersfield is one of the stops on the Real Ale Trail and villages on the route such as Marsden and Slaithwaite could also see a drop in the number of drinkers visiting pubs.

A nearby cafe owner, who did not want to be named, said her business had suffered during the ongoing disruption and she was worried about the 30-day closure.

“We’re just going to have to try and ride it out and hope things pick up after.”

While Huddersfield is shut, Network Rail, which is delivering the project, said Brighouse Station would operate as the main interchange for customers travelling to and from Huddersfield with a rail replacement bus operation between the two stations.

However, Huddersfield resident John O’Neil said the reliability and time it took to travel on replacement services could deter people from coming into the town.

“Town centres are already struggling so this isn’t going to help and the these buses take so long that I can’t see people getting on them.”

Meanwhile, regular rail passenger Perrie Coates said the closure would be disruptive but “had to be done”.

“It’s one of those things where at least they are improving the rail service and it will be beneficial when it’s finished.”

Samantha Sharp, manager of Huddersfield BID, said there would be some disruption but that the rail upgrades were vital to “the continuing growth of the town”.

She added: “Huddersfield is going through a phase of major development, which although will cause some inconvenience to businesses and visitors, the benefits of the developments will ensure that Huddersfield is a town fit for the future.

“Rail users will have a wealth of information given to them throughout the month and rail replacement buses will be available, to limit any inconvenience to travel.”

Gareth Hope, sponsor for Transpennine Route Upgrade, said by concentrating the work into a 30-day period, “we can avoid years of disruptive weekend and midweek closures, reducing long-term disruption for customers, businesses and the wider community.”

He added: “We understand there is no ideal time to complete work of this scale and we’ve been engaging with local businesses over the past year to ensure that the impact is reduced where possible.”

The closure has also spelled the end of the tradition of Huddersfield Station using cats as pest controllers, which began with the arrival of Felix, who became a global celebrity when she joined the staff in 2011.

Transpennine confirmed that Felix’s replacement, Bolt, was retiring from pest control duties because of the “confusion” the pet could experience during the engineering work, and would not return to the platforms.