The Prime Minister has announced an additional £415 million in funding for the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU).
This latest funding takes the total investment in the upgrade to £7.3 billion and moves it closer to delivering a modern, high-performance railway to provide better connections for communities in Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Designed to enhance capacity, reliability, and sustainability, the upgrade will improve journeys for passengers and strengthen the region’s economic future.
As work on the upgrade continues, it will unlock new opportunities, support local businesses, and help create a more prosperous and better-connected North.
With the accent on using a local workforce, 80% of workers employed on the upgrade are from within a 40-mile radius of the route, and 60% from within a 25-mile radius.
Around 5000 people are currently employed on the project, and over the length of the programme, it is expected to employ 8000 people.
As well as bringing the Transpennine Route into the 21st century with 70 miles of a fully electric and digital railway, it is also unlocking significant social and economic benefits for the region, and creating thousands of jobs and hundreds of apprenticeships, with 358 now working on the upgrade.
Local businesses are benefiting from opportunities in the supply chain, and it is estimated that greener transport will reduce carbon emissions by up to 87,000 tonnes each year. Natural environments near the railway will see an improvement with 10% biodiversity net gain across the route, and other benefits include funding to improve a canal towpath at Mirfield in West Yorkshire.
In February, whilst Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy was visiting Ravensthorpe in West Yorkshire to view progress with the project, a time capsule was buried to mark the project’s success so far and to commemorate Railway 200.
“The government’s continued support for TRU is a clear vote of confidence in the work we are doing, which is an enabler to releasing the economic potential of the North. This funding supports our onward journey to be truly transformational, delivering faster, more reliable rail services that connect people to jobs, education, and leisure opportunities. By improving connectivity and increasing capacity, we are not only enhancing journeys for customers but also helping to drive up investment, supporting more housing and more jobs and boosting productivity across the region.”
James Richardson, Managing Director for Transpennine Route Upgrade
Responses
In other rail news, I’ve just read that in January 2026, Network Rail will completely shut the West Coast mainline between Shap and Penrith for 2 weeks to replace a railway bridge over the M6, that was built when the motorway was constructed in this area in the 1970s. This bridge is said to be “life-expired” after only around 50 years of use, which compares very badly with bridges which the Victorians built – like Ribblehead viaduct – which are still fit for purpose, given routine maintenance, after over 130 years of use
During David Cameron’s premiership, three attempts were made to secure funding for electrifying the route through Standedge Tunnel. Each time the funds ran out, more money was allocated, which led contractors to inflate their fees. As a result, the project was ultimately abandoned due to excessive costs.
Additionally, there were discussions about raising the tunnel’s height to accommodate the wires, despite it already being sufficient. Engineers also struggled to understand how the Victorians had navigated the River Calder when constructing the original route.
Like many infrastructure projects, I won’t be holding my breath for this proposal to succeed either.