Thursday 19 Sep 2024
First TRU electric trains complete test runs in North Yorkshire
- Region & Route:
- Eastern
The first electric trains have successfully completed test runs along the recently electrified section of railway between York and Church Fenton as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU).
The milestone follows the completion of upgrade work between Church Fenton and Colton Junction - where trains from Leeds join the East Coast Main Line towards York - in July, when the newly installed overhead line equipment was energised for the first time. This is one of the busiest stretches of railway in the north, with over 100 trains passing through each day.
This is another step towards a cleaner, greener, fully electrified railway between York, Leeds and Manchester.
Adam Sellers, Senior Sponsor at TRU said: “This is a major achievement in our plans to bring cleaner, faster and better travel to the people of the North of England.
“The test trains successfully demonstrated that the new overhead equipment is operating as it should, ahead of the introduction of electric services in the future.
“People can see that TRU is very much in the delivery phase now and the benefits of all our teams’ hard work over the last three years is starting to show.”
The overhead line equipment (OLE), which carries 25,000 volts, will allow more environmentally friendly electric and bi-mode trains to run at speeds of up to 125mph - 30mph faster than they currently run - reducing journey times.
Chris Nutton, Major Projects & TRU Director at TransPennine Express, said: "It's very exciting to see the electrification of the Transpennine main line come one step closer with this new major milestone, and a big step in bringing cleaner, faster, and better rail journeys to the North of England.
"I want to thank our colleagues from the TRU East Alliance, our Operations change teams, test operator - the Rail Operations Group and all others who've played a part in this fantastic achievement."
The tests were undertaken using a TransPennine Express (TPE) Class 802 bi-mode train, which was operated by the Rail Operations Group, who were supporting TPE and the TRU East Alliance team to deliver these key tests in the early hours of the morning.
Jonathan Gavin-Jones, Business Development Manager at Rail Operations Group, said: “The TRU programme is one of the most exciting and ambitious infrastructure projects on the UK rail network.
“Rail Operations Group was proud to support TransPennine Express and the TRU East Alliance team to deliver these key tests.”
This is the second section of the route to be electrified as part of TRU, after the successful roll-out of electric services between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge this summer.
When complete, across the full 70-mile route, rail passengers will be helping to save up to 87,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year – equivalent to 5.9 million car journeys along the same route. For people living near the railway, it will also mean better air quality and quieter trains.
Over the last three years, engineers installed 350 piled foundations to support the new OLE, including 300 new cantilever and portal structures to support 37 miles of new contact catenary wires along this stretch of the line.
TRU ensured the construction of these upgrades was delivered sustainably, with the new equipment being assembled locally at the nearby Joseph Lynn Logistics Hub in Sherburn-in-Elmet and transported to site by train.
Notes to Editors
The work to deliver the infrastructure improvements on the Eastern part of the route between York and Leeds is being carried out by the Transpennine Route Upgrade East Alliance, comprising Network Rail, J. Murphy & Sons, Siemens, Systra and VolkerRail.
TRU is 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 York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester 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 York and Manchester and 41-42 minutes between Leeds and Manchester.
· 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
The work to deliver the infrastructure improvements on the route between York and Leeds is being carried out by the Transpennine Route Upgrade East Alliance, comprising Network Rail, J. Murphy & Sons, Siemens, Systra and VolkerRail.
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.
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