TRU Community Fund applications now closed: TRU Community Fund - Medium Grants cropped

Friday 4 Oct 2024

TRU Community Fund applications now closed

Region & Route:
Eastern

The application window for the first £175,000 TRU Community Fund is now closed, with almost 300 grant applications submitted in total.

The fund will give local community groups, schools and charities the opportunity to create or regenerate community-focussed “spaces and places” facilities across TRU’s 70-mile route. Applications opened in August, with organisations encouraged to bid for small (£1,000-£5,000) and medium (£5,000-£20,000) grants.

 

Anna Humphries, Head of Sustainability for the Transpennine Route Upgrade, said:

“Upon closure of the application window, I’d like to thank everyone who submitted applications for the TRU Community Fund.

“The sheer number of applications is testament to the enthusiasm and passion that the organisations across our route have for their communities. We’re excited to review all the bids and confirm the successful applicants in due course.”

 

The initiative is part of the TRU Sustainability Strategy – Our Guiding Compass – which aims to drive real, long term benefits for the people in the towns and communities the programme will be operating in over the next decade.

133 different organisations applied for a small grant, whilst 146 applied for a medium grant. From schools to sports clubs and community cohesion centres to nature preservation groups, an array of differing initiatives from a range of organisations will benefit from the fund.

Confirmation of those successful in their application for a small grant is due in mid-October, whilst medium grant confirmation is expected at the end of October.

Notes to Editors

About Transpennine Route Upgrade

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 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. 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.

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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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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