Major boosts to funding for rail route upgrades in the north.
Today, the government has trebled investment in TransPennine route upgrades to over £9 billion – slashing journey times and creating thousands of jobs across the North of England.
-
Through our record-breaking integrated rail plan, we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to redesign our railways using the best quality technology at our disposal.
-
That is why we are trebling investment in the TransPennine route upgrades to more than £9 billion – doubling the tracks from Huddersfield to Westtown in Dewsbury to increase capacity and fitting the route with the latest technology, including complete electrification and full digital signalling.
-
This new investment will slash journey times by up to 40 per cent, allow two additional passenger trains to run every hour, and make journeys more reliable and greener as we level up across the North.
Passengers in the north are set for a major boost as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps 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 tonnes per year.
The increase in funding, from £2.9 billion to more than £9 billion, 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 2 to 4.
A further £959 million of funding has been released to progress the next phase of TRU between Manchester and York. The almost £1 billion 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 2,000 to up to 4,000, taking thousands of lorries off our roads and delivering better journeys, sooner for passengers across the north.
Mark Eastwood MP said:
I am delighted that the Conservative Government has announced the trebling of investment into the Integrated Rail Plan to £9bn, which shows our commitment to levelling up. This funding will mean that lines between Huddersfield to Westtown in Dewsbury will be doubled from 2 to 4, to increase capacity and the route will be fitted with the latest technology, including complete electrification and full digital signalling. Great news for Dewsbury and Huddersfield.
Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps 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 2 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, announced in November 2021 as part of the integrated rail plan, will be hitting the tracks from 2025 - boosting economic growth and creating local skilled jobs.
