Increased Rail Traffic to Manchester Could Disrupt Road Traffic at Smithy Bridge Level Crossing
As Huddersfield Railway Station prepares for a full 30-day closure from Saturday, 30 August to Sunday, 28 September 2025, the ripple effects are expected to reach beyond Kirklees.
The station’s closure, part of the expansive Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), will shift a significant volume of rail traffic to alternative routes, most notably the Calder Valley line via Smithy Bridge. This change is likely to place pressure on the level crossing, disrupting road users throughout the delay period.
The closure of Huddersfield Station forms a vital phase in the multi-billion-pound TRU, designed to modernise and expand the railway corridor between Manchester and York via Huddersfield and Leeds. During these 30 days, Huddersfield station will undergo intensive works including platform reconstruction and extensions, viaduct strengthening, and upgrades to tracks and signalling, all to enable longer, greener, and more reliable train services
The station will reopen on Monday, 29 September with reduced capacity, operating on only three platforms while the remaining work continues until early 2027
With services via Huddersfield suspended, many trains heading to and from Manchester will be diverted along the Calder Valley line, calling at Brighouse and connecting via rail replacement buses to Huddersfield.
The Calder Valley line passes through Littleborough and Smithy Bridge. While not directly confirmed in official sources, it’s reasonable to expect more frequent rail movements on this line during the closure. Increased train traffic could increase the closures of the crossing, as trains sweep through more frequently. This could mean that motorists using Smithy Bridge Road would find it closed more often.
Public messaging from local authorities or Network Rail might still emerge to advise motorists, but at present, no official warnings have been issued regarding the Smithy Bridge crossing.
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