Britain’s Department for Transport has increased TransPennine funding from GBP 2.9 billion (EUR 3.4 billion) to more than GBP 9 billion (EUR 10.5 billion) to strengthen route’s and Northern Powerhouse Rail.
“By trebling the overall investment in the TRU [TransPennine route upgrades], I’m ensuring the north is at the forefront of the government’s Levelling Up agenda and guaranteeing passengers gold standard services set to deliver greener, faster and reliable services through Northern Powerhouse Rail, electrification and additional train tracks,” Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps said.
The full route will be fitted with the latest technology, from complete electrification and full digital signalling, to increased capacity along the route for passenger and freight services between Huddersfield and Westtown in Dewsbury, doubling tracks from two to four.
A further GBP 959 million (EUR 1.1 billion) of funding has been released to progress the next phase of TransPennine route upgrades (TRU) between Manchester and York. The funding will be used for the electrification of 12.9 km Stalybridge – Manchester section between Manchester Victoria, Rochdale, and Stalybridge. This will provide railway passengers in Greater Manchester with faster, more frequent, and more reliable trains in the future unlocking shorter journey times and trans-Pennine rail freight flows.
The funding will also facilitate Northern Powerhouse Rail potentially doubling the amount of direct construction jobs from 2,000 to up to 4,000, taking thousands of lorries off our roads and delivering better journeys, sooner for passengers across the north.
The additional TransPennine funding will significantly cut the journey times and reduce the carbon emissions by up to 87,000 tonnes per year.
Once complete, the TransPennine upgrade project is expected to deliver multiple benefits, delivering an extra two passenger trains every hour and additional hourly freight slots. Upgrades are expected to service more reliable journeys and slash journey times by up to 40%. Northern Powerhouse Rail will be fully electrified, improving the local environment and air quality across the north.
TransPennine programme covers upgrade work including electrification, track renewal and signalling equipment on the rail routes across the Pennines between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.
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