The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU)

🚨 We're looking for a new Head of Construction Delivery. To view the full job description and apply, please visit the job post below 👇

📣 We’ve had a busy couple of weeks engaging with stakeholders to promote the progress of work on TRU and the benefits of the scheme for the local area. 👉 Today, we attended a stakeholder conference in York which was arranged by TransPennine Express. This involved a business update from TPE and gave stakeholders the opportunity to ask questions and hear more about TRU. 🚉 We also recently met with Secretary of State for Business and Trade and Stalybridge MP, Jonathan Reynolds MP at Stalybridge station, who received an update and reaffirmed his support for our plans at the station.

🙌 We were delighted to welcome the Bishop of Leeds, Bishop Nick Baines, to TRU this morning to show him the progress that has taken place so far. 🏗️ The visit involved a briefing about TRU on the train from Leeds to Huddersfield, followed by a tour of Huddersfield station. This allowed us to demonstrate the scale of work currently underway across the Transpennine route to enable faster, more frequent trains to run on a greener, more reliable railway 🚉 🌄 Bishop Nick leads the Anglican Diocese of Leeds, one of the largest dioceses in England. It spans all of West Yorkshire and parts of North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Lancashire, and County Durham, covering approximately 2,425 square miles and serving a population of around 2.6 million people.

As we hit 'Blue Monday', which can be a challenging day for some, let’s flip the script and make it 'Brew Monday'! ☕   It’s a great reminder to reach out, connect & check in with those around us 👋   💻 Whether it’s a quick chat over a cuppa or a virtual catch-up, checking-in with each other can have a big impact and remember, support helplines are always available if you or someone you know needs extra help.   Across TRU, we've been touching base with colleagues and friends this morning, but who will you be reaching out to for a brew today? 🙏

🚨 TRU Vacancy: Commercial Manager (Quantity Surveyor)   🚅 The Transpennine Route Upgrade is a multi-billion-pound railway programme that will transform journeys across the North of England.   👉 We're looking for a Commercial Manager to provide post-contract commercial management of medium value/risk activity and support pre-contract activity within the project delivery team's scope of work, providing specialist commercial advice, guidance and recommendations to mitigate commercial risks.   📍 This is a full-time, permanent role based in Manchester, Leeds or York with a requirement to travel to our Huddersfield Project Office.   🔗 To apply for the role and view the full job description, please visit https://lnkd.in/ewiUz8kE

🛠️ Over Christmas and New Year, a series of major upgrades across multiple sites on the Transpennine route were carried out, taking customers one step closer to faster, greener and more reliable journeys between Manchester and York.   💯 A 100-strong team of TRU engineers worked around the clock to replace Osmondthorpe Lane railway bridge in Leeds. The new structure - weighing 200 tonnes - was moved into position in one piece by a self-propelled modular transport (SPMT) vehicle, before new tracks and over 270 tonnes of ballast were laid.   🎄 Over the Christmas period, a section of Station Road railway bridge in Mirfield was replaced, allowing a new accessible station entrance to be constructed, while piling work was completed to support the new platform layout.   ⚡ In Church Fenton, foundations were installed to facilitate new overhead line equipment (OLE), enabling electric trains to run through the area in the future.   🚅 The TRU team also headed to Miles Platting in Manchester, where a vital set of track points were renewed - this will enable trains to change from one line to another. 🙌 2025 is the bicentenary year of the railway, and TRU is building a railway that future generations can be proud of. 🎬 Take a look at how our work in Osmondthorpe unfolded below 👇

That’s a wrap 🎉   Last night, we successfully handed back the railway, ahead of schedule, after completing five days of major upgrades in Osmondthorpe, Leeds 🛠️   🏗️ The work involved replacing an old bridge deck with a stronger one, allowing the tracks to be moved into a better position and enabling faster, larger trains to run across this section of railway in the future 🚆   A huge thank you to everyone involved - from our planning teams and site engineers, to our customer delivery managers and community relations team. This key milestone wouldn't have been achieved without you. 🙌 And of course, a big thanks to our customers who travelled through the area over Christmas - we really appreciate your patience and support.   We hope everyone has a fantastic New Year and all the best for 2025 🎊

A TRU 2024 wrap-up 🗞️   ⏪ With 2025 fast approaching, we'd like to reflect on some of our achievements in what's been a pivotal year for the programme.   ⚡ Both Northern and TransPennine Express are now running electric services between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge, with further sections of the route to be electrified in 2025.   🤝 Following the Government reaffirming their commitment to TRU in the Autumn Budget announcement, the Chancellor and Transport Secretary joined Mayor Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester to see this progress first hand.   🏛️ We passed the one-year mark in our work at Huddersfield station, with upgrades well underway on the 'Euston style' roof and historic tearoom.   🏗️ Our sustainable approach to this work, including the building of our new office compound HD1, was awarded with a perfect 45/45 score in a Considerate Constructors Scheme assessment.   ℹ️ We completed a public consultation on plans for rail upgrades between Stalybridge and Diggle, with more than 300 residents giving feedback on our proposals for Greenfield and Mossley that include making both stations fully accessible for the first time.   📃 We had a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) approved that will grant the programme permission to deliver a number of major upgrades to the railway between Leeds and Micklefield.   🚉 March saw TRU announce its £100m investment for a new rail depot in Shipley, which will be used to house and maintain Northern's fleet of electric trains on the Airedale and Wharfedale Lines whilst access in and out of their Neville Hill depot in Leeds is restricted during a future phase of TRU - the depot will be kept open following the completion of the upgrade, with as many as 100 permanent employees.   🌍 We recently launched our first annual Sustainable Development Report, based on 'Our Guiding Compass', the TRU sustainability strategy. Our sustainable development efforts are steered by four key pillars: Northern jobs, enhanced environment, satisfied customers, and community engagement.   🙌 We introduced the £175,000 TRU Community Fund, which offers community groups, schools and charities the opportunity to create or enhance indoor or outdoor community-focussed facilities through small (£1000-£5000) or medium (£5000-£20,000) grants, with the successful recipients recently confirmed.   🐝 The PlanBEE Rail programme began, a unique higher apprenticeship scheme designed to recruit and nurture the next generation of multi-disciplinary project managers, in what is a two-year programme where the apprentices rotate around four different employers.   🛠️ Work to deliver upgrades across the route continues over the Christmas period in Osmondthorpe, Church Fenton, Mirfield and Miles Platting.   🎄 Everyone across TRU would like to thank customers, stakeholders and local communities for their support throughout the year and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

🚆🌍 TRU is launching the first Sustainable Development Report! We are excited to share the first TRU Sustainable Development Report, highlighting our commitment to a greener, more sustainable future. 👉 The report is developed based on ‘Our Guiding Compass’, TRU Sustainable Development Strategy to challenge the programme to deliver best-in-class sustainable development principles. It comprises four strategic pillars that steer sustainability for TRU, such as Northern jobs, Enhanced environment, Satisfied customers and Working with our communities. To monitor and reflect on our progress, this report summarises our work and some of our key achievements from April 2019 to March 2024 and indicated how our work aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 🏆Key Highlights: - Overarching objectives: provided around £1.4 billion in social value to the North and achieved a BREEAM Infrastructure 'Excellent' rating for the Leeds Station Capacity Project. - Northern jobs: Thousands of jobs were created in the North, with a strong emphasis on apprenticeships and skills development. We've employed 270 apprentices so far and delivered 12,500 work experience days to young people. - Enhanced environment: Significant efforts in reducing carbon emissions, enhancing biodiversity, and introducing hybrid trains. We've reduced carbon emissions by 3.4kg of CO2e per km travelled with our hybrid Class 185 trains. To help minimise waste, we’ve reused 20,000 tonnes of soil and 13,000 tonnes of excess aggregate from Leeds to York. - Satisfied customers: Enhancing station accessibility, improving connectivity, and ensuring a reliable travel experience. Around 99% of our intermediate stations will have step-free access. - Working with our communities: Supporting local communities through educational programmes and volunteering initiatives. We've engaged with over 44,500 children through 570 STEAM events and volunteered 11,450 hours for community and charitable organisations. This report reflects our dedication to delivering a sustainable railway that benefits everyone. We invite you to read the full report and join us on this journey towards a more sustainable future. 📊 Read the full report in https://lnkd.in/eiqjbTXr

🎉 Another milestone for #TRU!   ⚡ This week, TRU marked another pivotal step towards a greener, more reliable railway as TransPennine Express successfully ran their first electric train services between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge.   🚅 The milestone follows the introduction of Northern electric services on the same stretch of railway in August.   🛠️ Work continues as we aim to deliver a fully electrified Transpennine route - September saw our first electric test trains between York and Church Fenton, with passengers services expected to begin in 2025.