Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced the government will triple its investment in improvements to the TransPennine rail route, linking Greater Manchester with West Yorkshire, to £9 billion.
The funding will support the full electrification of the rail route, saving around 87,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, as well as lay the foundations for the proposed Northern Powerhouse Rail high-speed rail route across the region.
The full route will be fitted with the latest technology, from complete electrification and full digital signalling as well as increasing capacity for both passenger and freight services. £1 billion has been released on completing the electrification of the stretch of the line within Greater Manchester, from Manchester to Stalybridge, with fully electric trains running on the line from the middle of the decade.
The additional funding is also expected to support an extra 2,000 construction jobs in delivering new stretches of the line for high-speed rail services.
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.”
The TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU), announced in November as part of the Integrated Rail Plan, is expected to complete from 2025.
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