Calder Valley Line

Calder Valley Line
Two Trains in Todmorden (2008)
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Dual track :	continuously

The Calder Valley Line , formerly known as the Caldervale Line , is a railway route in northern England that connects the major cities of Leeds and Manchester and the coastal city of Blackpool . It uses the northernmost of the three railway lines crossing the Pennines and is the slower of the two rail links between Leeds and Manchester.

On the section between Halifax and Burnley , the route follows the valleys of the Calder (West Yorkshire) and Calder (Lancashire) rivers , which give it its name. From Todmorden to Manchester , it follows the Rochdale Canal . The branch to Blackpool follows the Calder to Burnley and Blackburn and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal from Burnley.

The crossing of the Pennines made several tunnels necessary for the construction of the routes used .

Operation and vehicle use

Northern Rail provides passenger train connections on the following routes:

• (Selby) - Leeds - Bradford Interchange - Halifax - Huddersfield with multiple units of TOPS class 156, occasionally also classes 158 and 144
• Leeds - Bradford Interchange / Brighouse - Rochdale - Manchester Victoria with multiple units of TOPS -classes 155 and 156
• York - Leeds - Bradford Interchange - Halifax - Burnley - Blackpool North TOPS class 158 multiple units

In timetables, these routes are usually listed along with the Huddersfield Line and York & Selby Lines , so that continuous traffic is indicated from coast to coast.

Service within West Yorkshire is subsidized by West Yorkshire Metro . Their tickets (including season tickets) are valid on the route to Blackpool between Leeds and Hebden Bridge and on the route to Manchester between Leeds and Walsden .

Routes and stations used

Before 1923, the routes operated from Leeds to Bradford belonged to the Great Northern Railway , the rest of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) with the exception of the last section of the route before Huddersfield, which was owned by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR).

Numerous stations on the routes traveled have been closed over time. Details can be found in the articles about the individual routes. Only the stops currently served or planned in the near future are listed here.

Leeds - Bradford Interchange

→ Main article : Leeds – Bradford Interchange railway line

Leeds – Manchester

Legend from York and Selby Leeds Bramley New Pudsey Bradford Interchange Low Moor (reopening 2017) Halifax to and from Brighouse Sowerby Bridge Mytholmroyd Hebden Bridge to and from Burnley Death murders Walsden Summit tunnel Littleborough Smithy Bridge from Oldham (now Manchester Metrolink) Rochdale Castleton to Heywood (freight traffic only) Mills Hill Moston from Oldham (now Manchester Metrolink) to and from Ashburys, Denton and Stalybridge Manchester Victoria to Salford Central

This section is part of the routes between Leeds and Bradford .

• Leeds City Station
• Bramley
• New Pudsey
• Bradford Interchange

Bradford - Halifax

• Bradford Interchange
• Low Moor should be reopened in December 2015, the necessary securing of former mine structures delayed the opening until April 2, 2017.
• Halifax (all Calder Valley Line trains stop here)

Halifax - Manchester Victoria

Train heading for Manchester leaves Summit Tunnel between Walsden and Littleborough

• Sowerby Bridge
• Mytholmroyd
• Hebden Bridge
• Death murders
• Walsden (last stop in West Yorkshire)
• Littleborough (first stop in Greater Manchester )
• Smithy Bridge
• Rochdale
• Castleton
• Mills Hill
• Moston
• Manchester Victoria

Halifax - Huddersfield

Halifax – Huddersfield
Legend from Bradford Interchange Halifax to and from Sowerby Bridge Elland (interview for reinstallation) Brighouse to and from Mirfield Deighton (no stop for Calder Valley Line) Huddersfield to Stalybridge and Sheffield

This section was reopened in 2000 together with the Brighouse station, with a short section being relocated to directly approach Huddersfield.

• Halifax
• Elland (talk of reopening)
• Brighouse (reopened in 2000)
• Deighton ( Huddersfield Line trains only stop here, Calder Valley Line trains do not)
• Huddersfield

Death Murder - Blackburn

Death Murder - Preston

Legend from Manchester Victoria Death murders to and from Sowerby Bridge Burnley Manchester Road from Colne Rose Grove Hapton Huncoat Accrington Church and Oswaldtwistle Rishton by Clitheroe Blackburn to Bolton Mill Hill (Lancashire) Cherry tree Pleasington Bamber Bridge to the WCML Lostock Hall WCML from Liverpool WCML from Wigan to Preston Riversway Preston WCML to Lancaster and to Kirkham and Wesham

The route from Todmorden to Burnley was opened on November 12, 1849 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway . The section from Burnley to Preston was built by the East Lancashire Railway and opened in sections between 1846 and 1848.

• Death murders
• Burnley Manchester Road
• Rose Grove (intermediate platform and two unused side platforms)
• Hapton
• Huncoat
• Accrington
• Church and Oswaldtwistle
• Rishton
• Blackburn

Blackburn - Preston

This route is also used by the East Lancashire Line and was historically part of the East Lancashire Railway .

• Blackburn (junction to Bolton )
• Mill Hill (Lancashire)
• Cherry tree
• Pleasington
• Hoghton
• Bamber Bridge
• Lostock Hall
• Preston (transition to the crossing West Coast Main Line )

Preston - Blackpool

The route branches off at Kirkham and Wesham to Blackpool North and Blackpool South. In their entirety, the routes are known as Blackpool Branch Lines .

• Preston
• Salwick
• Kirkham and Wesham (Junction Station)
• double-track route to the north:
  • Singleton
  • Poulton-le-Fylde
  • Layton
  • Blackpool North
• single-track route to the south:
  • Moss Side
  • Lytham
  • St Annes-on-the Sea
  • Ansdell and Fairhaven
  • Squires Gate
  • Blackpool Pleasure Beach
  • Blackpool South

Temporary interruption

From November 2013 to March 2014, Holme Tunnel between Hebden Bridge and Burnley Manchester Road was closed for construction work for a total of 20 weeks and during this time rail replacement traffic was set up. This was necessary because ground movements had deformed the tunnel cross-section. The cost was estimated at £ 16.3 million . Since reopening on March 24, 2014, the tunnel can be driven at 45 mph (72 km / h).

Recent developments

Network Rail intends to make improvements to the routes it uses as part of the Northern Hub plan, which should enable more frequent service. Some train journeys via Bradford are to be extended to Chester , Crewe , Liverpool and Manchester Airport .

Low Moor and Elland

The Low Moor stop between Bradford Interchange and Halifax reopened in April 2017. The reopening of the station in Elland is under investigation .

Todmorden Curve

The Todmorden Curve , an approximately 500 m long connection between Hall Royd Junction near Todmorden and the route to Burnley, was dismantled in 1972. She had allowed direct train travel between Manchester and Burnley via Todmorden. Lancashire County Council made its restoration a high priority. In March 2010 the government estimated the cost of this at £ 7 million and established the need for initial subsidies for rail transport. Network Rail agreed in October 2010 to fund the final review of the plan. The conclusion in May 2011 was that the restoration of the connecting curve would be practicable, but not on the original route, which had curve radii that were too tight. Instead, an alternative route was proposed.

On October 31, 2011, the project was approved by the Deputy Prime Minister. Construction work began in the summer of 2013. The curve should be operational when the timetable changes in May 2014. Track work and inspection were completed in May 2014, and regular operations began on May 17, 2015.

Web links

Commons : Calder Valley Line  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• West Yorkshire Metro

Individual evidence

1. ^ Low Moor rail station . West Yorkshire Metro. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
2. ^ New station runs into further delay . Bradford Telegraph and Argus. July 14, 2016. Accessed March 31, 2017.
3. ^ Opening date set for long-awaited railway station . In: Bradford Telegraph and Argus , March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017. 
4. ↑ 20 week closure for Holme tunnel upgrade Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. In: Modern Railways . May 9, 2013.
5. ↑ Graeme Bickerdike: Ground Force . In: The Rail Engineer , November 7, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2015. 
6. ↑ Holme Tunnel reopened on Monday 24 March . Northern Rail. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Northern Hub . Network Rail. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
8. ↑ Timetabling work complete ready for Bradford Low Moor opening in 2013 . In: Rail , April 7, 2010, p. 20. 
9. ^ Todmorden and Fleetwood top Lancashire's rail list . In: Rail , April 7, 2010, pp. 16-17. 
10. ↑ £ 7m. upfront price tag for Todmorden Curve rail link . In: Pendle Today , March 23, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2015. 
11. ↑ UK News In Brief . In: Railway Herald , October 4, 2010, p. 5. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved July 31, 2015.  
12. ↑ Magill, Peter: Major boost as £ 9million rail link cash announced for Burnley . In: Lancashire Telegraph , October 31, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2015. 
13. ↑ Todmorden Curve journeys to start after May 2014 . In: Lancashire Telegraph , July 31, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2015. 
14. ^ Campaigners hope curve will spring into life . In: Todmorden News , October 15, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2015. 
15. ^ Northern Rail: New direct train services between Accrington, Burnley and Manchester . Retrieved July 31, 2015.