All abroad as father and son take 4500-mile ticket to ride on the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU)

Tuesday 1 Apr 2025

All abroad as father and son take 4500-mile ticket to ride on the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU)

Region & Route:: Eastern

A father and son from Denver, Colorado, have completed their biggest train adventure so far, taking them all the way to the home of TRU in West Yorkshire.

Daniel Shurz and his son Noah won the chance to get an exclusive look at the biggest rail upgrade in the North of England, transforming millions of journeys, in a charity raffle organised by the Railway Benefit Fund (RBF).

The whistle-stop tour started at Huddersfield station, where they met the station manager, learned about the transformational work taking place, and even got a special introduction to the station’s celebrated and much-loved feline mascot, Bolt the Cat.

From there it was a short walk to HD1, one of TRU’s key operational hubs which supports the vital work taking place across Huddersfield. After switching civvies for high-vis and hard hats, they headed to Ravensthorpe - one of the biggest civil engineering sites in the UK. Here, Daniel and Noah got to see first-hand the progress being made on the new viaduct and box junction, which will increase the reliability of services and allow trains to pass through the area quicker.

After an action-packed morning, the duo took a well-earned break back at HD1, where they enjoyed lunch with the TRU team and swapped stories from across the pond.

They wrapped up their day with a visit to Hillhouse Sidings, a new depot under construction in Huddersfield that will support the maintenance, cleaning and storage of some of Northern’s passenger fleet, and engineering trains. One highlight was seeing the new overhead electrical wires that have recently been installed.

With their tour complete, Dan and Noah were given a selection of TRU-branded souvenirs to take back to Denver before heading off to enjoy the rest of their trip.

Reflecting on the experience, Daniel said:

“We’ve always loved trains and everything about them, so it’s fantastic to be able to come and see the great progress being made. We wish Team TRU the best of luck with the upgrades and can’t wait to see how the project has further progressed when we’re next in the UK."

Paul Sumner, Senior Sponsor for TRU, said:

“We were delighted to welcome Daniel and Noah on this special tour and we are proud share our progress with them. They have definitely set the record for visitors who have travelled the furthest. It was fantastic to share our vision for faster, greener and more reliable journeys with them. We’re sure it’s been a trip to remember!”

The Railway Benefit Fund (RBF) provides crucial support to rail workers and their families in times of need, offering financial assistance, mental health support, and grants. The charity raffle that secured Dan and Noah’s trip helps to fund these vital services.

Notes to Editors

Our workforce is local, with 80% employment from within a 40-mile radius of the route, and 60% employed from within a 25-mile radius.
With a current workforce of around 5000 people, we expect to employ 8000 people over the length of the programme.
The half way mark of employing 590 apprentices has already been achieved, with 358 now working on TRU
Improved natural environments near the railway through 10% biodiversity net gain across the route. This will create or enhance habitats for wildlife.
The multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) will bring this line into the 21st century with 70-miles of fully electric, digital railway.

Our plans include:

Electrifying the whole route between Manchester and York via Huddersfield and
Leeds
Installing a new digital signalling system along the Transpennine route
Doubling the number of tracks from two to four between Huddersfield and
Westtown in Dewsbury.
Station improvements along the route to enhance customer experience, comfort
and accessibility
Improving the railway on diversionary routes to allow more trains to run, to help
keep passengers and freight moving while the core Transpennine route is closed to
deliver essential upgrades. This will provide capacity and reliability improvements
for future too.

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Journalists
Ewan Bayliss
Communications Executive
Network Rail
ewan.bayliss@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

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