Passengers in the North are set for a major boost as Transport
Secretary more than trebles the
investment for TransPennine Route Upgrades (TRU), slashing
journey times, setting the foundations for Northern PowerHouse
Rail and reducing carbon emissions by up to 87,000 tons per year.
The increase in funding, from £2.9bn to more than £9bn, is set to
strengthen TRU and Northern PowerHouse Rail transforming an
already ambitious project to a 'gold standard’ and delivering on
the Government’s priority of Levelling Up the country.
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 £959m of funding has been released to progress the next
phase of TRU between Manchester and York. The almost £1bn will be
spent on the remaining electrification of the railway between
Stalybridge and Manchester and unlocking shorter journey times
and trans-Pennine rail freight flows with electric trains between
Manchester and Stalybridge, expected to hit the tracks around the
middle of the decade.
Funding will also facilitate Northern Powerhouse Rail potentially
doubling the amount of direct construction jobs from 2000 to up
to 4,000 taking thousands of lorries off our roads and delivering
better journeys, sooner for passengers across the North.
Transport Secretary, said
“Through our record breaking Integrated Rail Plan, we have a once
in a lifetime opportunity to redesign the railways and it’s only
right that we deliver this in line with the best quality
technology at our disposal.
“By trebling the overall investment in the TRU, 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.”
Once complete, the TRU 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.
The TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU), announced in November as
part of the Integrated Rail Plan, will be hitting the tracks from
2025 - boosting economic growth and creating local skilled
jobs.
