The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU)

Take a look at all things TRU from March in this month's newsletter! 👇

A major boost for rail in the North 🚀 📣 The Prime Minister has today confirmed an additional £415m for the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU). This investment is about more than just railway upgrades - it’s about unlocking economic growth, creating jobs and delivering a more sustainable transport network. TRU is: 🚆 Delivering faster, more frequent services – up to six fast trains per hour between Leeds & Manchester 🧑💼 Boosting the economy – creating thousands of jobs & hundreds of apprenticeships, while supporting local businesses 🍃 Cutting carbon emissions – reducing CO₂ by up to 87,000 tonnes per year through full route electrification 📈 Enhancing passenger experience – upgrading stations & making travel more accessible As work progresses, TRU will transform connectivity across the North, helping businesses thrive, communities grow and customers get to where they need to be. https://lnkd.in/eSPtDs_B

💡 March is Brain Tumour Awareness Month. Every year, Brain Tumour Research, with support from the public, light up landmarks across the UK to bring awareness to the cause.   🩷💛 This evening (March 28) Leeds station, along with Liverpool Lime Street and London Kings Cross, will be lit up in Brain Tumour Research's signature pink and yellow colours. This initiative has been driven by TRU colleague, Alex Davies, whose glioblastoma diagnosis has pushed him to not just fight his own battle, but to raise awareness and help others. To date, he has raised over £6,000 for those affected by brain tumours.   Brain tumours can affect anyone at any age and Alex's story is just one of many across the country. If you'd like to read more on Alex's inspirational journey and find out how to donate, please visit https://lnkd.in/e_FJMBE8

💫 Last night, the TRU Social Value team were at the Spotlight Rail Awards where our efforts in the Corporate Social Responsibility category were recognised with the Highly Commended distinction.   📚 The recognition came as a result of 'Cones and the Transpennine Route Upgrade' - a book written in partnership with author Chris Madeley which aims to engage children and provide an insight into safety on the railway, the benefits the TRU programme will bring and fun facts about the places across our route.   Well done to our amazing Social Value team and to all the other nominees and winners. 🙌

It's your last chance to apply for the second cohort of the PlanBEE Rail apprenticeship - applications close Sunday, 23 March! 🚨 Apply now 👉 https://lnkd.in/dPwKPykp PlanBEE Rail is a pioneering apprenticeship to address skills shortages and give young people the chance to launch their careers in the rail industry. NSAR and Network Rail have joined forces with The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), Alstom, Amey, AmcoGiffen, Aureos, Balfour Beatty plc, BAM UK & Ireland, Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom, Jacobs, Morgan Sindall Construction, Murphy, SYSTRA, TransPennine Express and VolkerRail Ltd. #PlanBEERail #Rail #Careers #Apprenticeships

🎉 We're joining colleagues from across the rail industry in Cardiff for tonight's #yrpawards2025, where we're up for Employer of the Year.   Our nomination for this award comes on the back of two key initiatives:   👉 PlanBEE Rail, a unique higher apprenticeship programme designed to recruit and train the next generation of project managers, in which TRU are founding sponsors.   👉 Early Career Professionals (ECP), a network designed to provide those in the early stages of their career with networking and development opportunities, open to apprentices, graduates and placement students, or anyone new to TRU as they build their career in the rail industry.   🏅 Good luck to all of our fellow nominees! 

🚨 TRU is looking for a new Commercial & Procurement Buyer. To view the full job description and to apply, please visit the job post below 👇

♻️ On #GlobalRecyclingDay, we're reflecting on the progress being made in our approach to sustainability and how recycling and reusing play a key role in delivering a cleaner, greener railway across the North.   ℹ️ Global Recycling Day was established by the Global Recycling Foundation to raise awareness about the importance of recycling, and to promote the concept of waste as a useful resource. As part of the #TRU Sustainable Development Strategy – Our Guiding Compass – recycling is a core objective in the programme’s operations as 90% of projects across the route are now in the design and delivery phase.   Here's how TRU have been managing materials efficiently and eliminating unnecessary waste. 👇   ⭕ TRU is embracing a circular economy, maximising the use and value of materials for as long as possible by designing-out waste from the outset, planning work so they can be deconstructed and used again, and reusing waste.   🏗️ This commitment supports TRU’s approach to reducing its carbon impact. One example is the cross-project collaboration between TRU and Rail Electrification Alliance (REAL), which saw 13,000 tonnes of leftover construction material moved from two REAL sites to several TRU sites and used to build roads and construction hubs – this transfer of resources saved approximately 1,200 tonnes of carbon that would have been generated from using new materials.   🛤️ More recently, the use of composite sleepers - a TRU first - during Christmas works at Osmondthorpe Lane bridge reduced the project’s carbon usage by 71%. A composite sleeper is made from recycled plastics or other composite materials, as opposed to typical concrete sleepers which are more significant contributors of carbon.   👏 With a programme target of recycling or reusing 90% of waste generated during construction, performance is currently exceeding this objective at 96.3%, whilst TRU’s promise to divert 99% of construction waste from landfill is being met, with current performance since the start of the programme standing at 99.15%.   TRU will deliver faster, more frequent trains on a cleaner, greener railway across the Pennines - we are proud of what we’re able to showcase this Global Recycling Day, and how large programmes such as TRU have a duty to set such an example. 🌍

🚢 From Ireland to Huddersfield!   🏗️Earlier this year, TRU had over 300 tonnes of concrete beams transported to Huddersfield for our strengthening work of the Span 29 viaduct. They were lifted into place with a 750-tonne crane and the entire installation was complete in under 17 hours.   🥶 The TRU team battled temperatures of -4°C to deliver a vital part of upgrade work in the Huddersfield area safely and effectively, as we took a step closer to faster, more frequent trains throughout West Yorkshire and beyond.   Take a look at how we transported and installed the concrete beams. 🎥👇

🚆 PlanBEE Rail is a unique higher apprenticeship programme designed to recruit and train the next generation of project managers.   🙌 TRU's first cohort have recently completed their first six months as part of the scheme, and they will now move on to another major programme.   🚨 The second PlanBEE Rail cohort launches in September, with applications open until Sunday 23 March. For more details on the programme and to apply, please visit https://lnkd.in/dPwKPykp