Government more than trebles investment for rail in the North to more than £9bn
Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, has more than trebled investment for TransPennine Route upgrades (TPU) to in excess of £9bn, aimed at slashing journey times, cutting carbon emissions by up to 87,000 tonnes a year and laying the foundations for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Funding has been boosted from an original sum of £2.9bn.
The increased spending will pay for complete electrification of routes and full digital signalling to increase capacity 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, which 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.
However, this £959m is included in current budgets as part of the next step in delivering existing commitments
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 roads and delivering better journeys, sooner for passengers across the North.
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 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 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.
