TRU commits to construction worker wellbeing charity

Tuesday 26 Nov 2024

TRU commits to construction worker wellbeing charity

Region & Route:: Eastern

TRU has entered a programme-wide partnership with the Lighthouse Charity – a charity dedicated to providing emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support to the construction worker community.

TRU – one of the largest programmes to partner with the charity – has committed its support to the vital work they do within the industry through the provision of funding, with the wellbeing of the programme workforce a top priority and the charity’s services open to staff 24/7.

A key part of the Lighthouse Charity’s strategy is to provide widely available reactive and proactive resources to support anyone who needs them, for free – their confidential 24/7 helpline, live web chat service and text facility offer a range of information and guidance on a variety of wellbeing issues.

Andy Picken, TRU Head of Health and Wellbeing, said:

“This is a great addition to the TRU wellbeing programme, and an equitable approach to offering wellbeing support right across a complex and multi-organisational programme. The Lighthouse Charity is a single point of access to a plethora of emotional, physical and financial wellbeing guidance, resources and support.

“It offers a dynamic collection of wellbeing services under one roof that works with the entire workforce regardless of employing company or contract type and tackling the industry’s biggest wellbeing issues with a host of preventative services to support better physical and mental wellbeing, providing vital support services in times of need.

“This new partnership works alongside our other wellbeing services to help increase coverage and access to wellbeing services across our large programme of works spanning across Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York. Its an honour to support the great work the Lighthouse Charity does for our industry with this mutually beneficial partnership.”

Sarah Bolton, CEO of the Lighthouse Charity added:

“We are delighted to be partnering with TRU to spread a positive wellbeing message across their programme and ensuring their teams know about and feel able to access the support they need.

“As well as our reactive support channels, our Wellbeing Academy also ensures that the workforce are able to access the soft skills training they need to navigate and manage today’s challenges both at work and home.”

If you or anyone else you know is struggling, please reach out and access Lighthouse Charity’s 24/7 services at:

Tel 0345 605 1956, (UK) or 1800 939 122 (ROI)

Live chat: lighthouseclub.org

Text HARDHAT to 85258

Find out more at www.lighthouseclub.org

Notes to Editors

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 stations
• Greener travel, reducing our carbon footprint and improving air quality. Our plans
aim to save up to 87,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year – supporting the
government’s Net Zero objectives. We’re also developing a proposal to move more
goods by rail (up to 15 more freight trains each day.)
• Together, these freight trains are expected to remove over 1,000 lorries off the road each day.

TRU will bring local communities:

• Jobs for local people. Our workforce will be local, with 80% employment from
within a 40-mile radius of the route, and 60% employment from within a 25-mile
radius. With a current workforce of around 2000 people, we estimate that could
double over the course of the programme. We’ll employ an apprentice for every
£4million spent.
• 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.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

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

About Network Rail

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