Media centre

Wednesday 17 Sep 2025

TRU launches second round of Community Fund with £250,000 for local communities

Region & Route:

Eastern

The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is launching the second round of its Community Fund, offering £250,000 to support local community groups, schools and charities along its major railway route.

Building on the success of last year's scheme, the TRU Community Fund will provide grants of £1,000, £5,000, £10,000 or £20,000 to organisations within five miles of the Transpennine route, which runs between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.

Organisations within five miles of the Shipley Traincare Centre, a key TRU worksite, will also be eligible to apply.

The fund aims to help create or enhance indoor or outdoor community focused facilities. Applications open on Monday 6 October and close on Monday 27 October.

The funding is being managed on behalf of TRU by Neighbourly. Applicants will need to create an account before applying on the TRU Community Fund campaign page when applications open.

The Community Fund forms a key part of TRU's commitment to invest in local communities and protect the spaces and places it will be working in over the next decade.

Any questions about applications should be directed to Neighbourly at community@neighbourly.com. Please note that if a high number of applications are received, the application window may need to close early.

Alex Peters, Interim Head of Sustainability and Social Value for TRU, said: "We're delighted to launch the second round of our Community Fund, which represents our ongoing commitment to supporting the communities we work alongside. This funding provides a fantastic opportunity for local organisations to make a lasting impact on the people they serve."

The Transpennine Route Upgrade is a multi-billion-pound programme that will transform rail travel across the North, delivering faster journey times and more reliable services.

The launch of the second round of the TRU Community Fund comes as the project is halfway through undertaking major upgrades at Huddersfield station.

The work in Huddersfield involves reconstructing and extending the station platforms to accommodate longer trains, strengthening Huddersfield viaduct, and upgrading tracks and signalling for increased reliability.