29 August 2025
A quarter of the 70-mile Transpennine main line has now been electrified, a major milestone in the project to bring faster, greener and more reliable services between the cities of Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York in the UK.

To celebrate this progress, Heidi Alexander MP, Secretary of State for Transport, visited the route on August 5 and travelled on a TransPennine Express bi-mode train between Leeds and York.

SYSTRA contributing for over a decade

As part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) East Alliance, alongside Network Rail, Murphy, Siemens and VolkerRail, SYSTRA has been delivering a raft of upgrades along the eastern section (TRUe) of the line since 2014.

Our teams have been involved in every stage of this vital rail modernisation project in the UK, including with a successful bridge replacement at the end of 2024.

The benefits of the Transpennine Route Upgrade are numerous:

• Carbon emissions cut by up to 108,000 tonnes per year
• More freight by rail, removing more than 1,000 lorries from the road daily
• Reduced journey times Increased capacity by more than a third
• Lasting social and economic value, with more than 5,000 jobs already supported and a peak workforce forecast of 8,000
• Increased accessibility and improved passenger facilities

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