Wednesday 17 May 2023
School artwork adds splash of colour to Batley railway station
- Region & Route:
- Eastern: North & East
Artwork inspired by the Transpennine Route Upgrade has been unveiled at Batley station this week, after hundreds of pupils from local schools took part in a railway themed colouring competition.
Late last year, pupils from five West Yorkshire schools were challenged to draw pictures inspired by the history of the railway in Batley and future improvements being delivered by the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU).
TRU is set to revolutionise rail across the north by delivering faster, more frequent train services along a cleaner, greener, electrified railway between York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester.
The artwork was judged by Kim Leadbeater MP for Batley, Friends of Batley Station Chair Gwen Lowe, Nick Martin, Construction Lead on TRU and Ann Duffy, Social Value Lead on TRU.
The winning drawing, which was submitted by Hamnah Nazim from Lydgate Junior & Infants, depicts the benefits the multi-billion-pound upgrades will offer passengers in the future.
Sarah Thompson, Sponsor for Transpennine Route Upgrade, said:
“We had a fantastic day celebrating the new artwork at Batley station this week and I’d like to say a big thank you to all the local schools and pupils that took part in the colouring competition.
“The judging proved to be difficult, owing to the amazing drawings that were submitted and this showed just how much passion the children have for local transport and the railway. It’s an honour to be involved and I’m really pleased that passengers at Batley station can enjoy the brilliant artwork.”
“For me, this emphasises the benefits the Transpennine Route Upgrade will offer future generations, allowing them to enjoy faster, more frequent trains running along a cleaner, greener, more reliable railway.”
Hamnah’s drawing will now be displayed on the compound area next to Batley station, alongside her fellow students’ entries and other pupils from local schools.
Batley station is one of many stations on the Transpennine Route that is receiving major upgrades to make it fully accessible, with a footbridge and lifts connecting the two platforms.
This week the Transpennine Route Upgrade revealed its new sustainability strategy, which focuses on delivering environmental benefits, social value and employment opportunities for local people.
The programme commits to engaging with over 100,000 young people through its inclusive education programme. It also aims to employ 590 apprentices and deliver over 30,000 placement days to support new entrants joining the industry, pre-employment, transitioning and upskilling.
The TRU Sustainability Strategy can be accessed on the TRU website: Our Guiding Compass - Transpennine Route Upgrade (thetrupgrade.co.uk)
Notes to Editors
We’re transforming journeys across the North, better connecting towns and cities through more frequent, faster trains, running on a cleaner, greener and more reliable railway.
TRU will bring passengers:
- More trains to choose from and more seats. Our improvements will enable more trains to run between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York with up to six fast services every hour between Leeds and Manchester and up to two stopping services for local connectivity.
- Faster journeys so you can travel to your favourite towns and cities more quickly. Our fastest journey times are forecast to be 63-66 minutes between Manchester and York and 41-42 minutes between Manchester and Leeds.
- More reliable journeys with trains that run on-time
- Better stations across the Transpennine route, bringing passengers a better travel experience through improved, more accessible station
The multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) will bring this line into the 21st century with 76-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.
By the middle of the decade, we’re aiming to run electric local services between Manchester and Stalybridge – meaning better, greener and more reliable trains for passengers.
The total forecast cost range for the Programme is currently £9bn-£11.5bn and the expected completion dates of 2036 to 2041 for full realisation of benefits. However, the majority of benefits will be realised by the early 2030s.
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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.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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