First wires installed for £9bn+ Transpennine Route Upgrade

The first five miles of 25kV overhead wires have been installed on the York-LeedsManchester trans-Pennine route.

The wiring-up from Colton Junction (south of York) to Church Fenton means that Leeds is now only 13 miles away. When that stage is reached, LNER has the potential to achieve a second all-electrified route to Scotland instead of just one north of Doncaster.

Before it went out of business in 2006, GNER famously spoke of part-financing electrification north of Leeds as part of its final abortive franchise bid. That idea was rejected by the DfT.

Under government control, work began on upgrading the York-Church Fenton line in October 2019 and has included laying new track, resignalling and installation of 270 steel masts. According to Network Rail, the line speed is also being raised from 90mph to 125mph.

With a final price tag now estimated to be more than £9 billion, it may not be until after 2030 that the full 76-mile transPennine route is operational because major obstacles must be overcome in areas of difficult terrain, and where there have been years of underinvestment. There is heavy passenger and freight traffic, but through journeys are slow because of a series of bottlenecks.

Recent engineering possessions at the Manchester end have allowed electric mast bases to be installed to Ashton-underLyne

and Stalybridge, but there remains the three-mile Standedge Tunnel to be addressed.

Transport & Works Act Order approval has also been given for modernisation of the eightmile Huddersfield-Westtown (Dewsbury) section, where four-tracking will greatly increase capacity (RAIL 961).

On the progress at Church Fenton, Network Rail Eastern Region Managing Director Rob McIntosh said: “This is a huge moment for the Transpennine Route Upgrade and really represents the forward shift we’ve seen in recent months.”

On July 19, ministers announced a funding increase of more than 200% for the Transpennine Route Upgrade from £2.9bn to more than £9bn. This includes the release of £959 million from existing budgets announced in November 2021 as part of the Integrated Rail Plan for the next phase of work. It was criticised by the TSSA unions as “yet another re-announcement”.

Government has put the TRU on a firmer footing, but there remains a risk of delays and cost increases. So says a report from the National Audit Office published on July 20, which criticises ministers for taking too long to decide how to upgrade the route. It also says that government has not yet committed to funding the rolling stock needed to achieve the programme’s full benefits, while it is also not yet clear how the cost of inflation will be managed.