Across the Pennines, the TRU has quietly evolved into one of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects. In industry terms, it rivals the Elizabeth Line in scope, while offering more immediate delivery certainty than High Speed 2. Its steady progress and its expanding freight dimension have led to it being described as Britain’s best-kept civil engineering secret.

Intensive West Yorkshire phase

Throughout this coming May and June, engineering teams will focus on the Huddersfield to Leeds corridor, deploying more than 120 engineering trains across multiple work phases. The activity includes renewing over eleven kilometres of track, installing thousands of sleepers, and laying close to 50,000 tonnes of ballast, alongside preparatory works for electrification.

From early May, 56 engineering trains will support 6.2 kilometres of track renewal and the installation of more than 21,000 tonnes of ballast. A further phase, extending into late June, will see an additional 66 engineering trains deliver more than five kilometres of track upgrades, alongside drainage works and the installation of 67 overhead line masts. The programme remains on schedule, despite a recent tunnel fire setback.

Freight plays a growing role in delivery

The scale of material movement highlights the central role of rail freight in delivering the programme. Moving tens of thousands of tonnes of ballast and construction materials by rail has reduced reliance on road haulage, while enabling continuous, high-volume supply directly to work sites across the route.

Measured mile for mile, the level of freight activity compares with that seen on High Speed 2, albeit with far less public attention. The use of engineering trains as a primary logistics tool has allowed the project to maintain momentum, demonstrating how freight can underpin major infrastructure delivery without the need for extensive parallel logistics networks.

Long-term freight benefits becoming clearer

While the TRU programme was initially presented as a passenger-focused upgrade, the benefits for freight are becoming more evident as designs are delivered. Electrification, longer platforms, and enhanced capacity between key centres will support more flexible pathing and improved network resilience.

Capacity enhancements, backed by significant investment, are also strengthening freight capability across the Pennines. The eventual outcome is still years away, but the provision being made for more consistent journey times and greater route availability, particularly during engineering works or disruption on core corridors, is a benefit that helps answer the government-promoted desire to increase rail freight traffic by 75% by 2050.

Wider social benefits

Alongside track and systems upgrades, the rail freight sector is facilitating station upgrades, including long-overlooked centres such as Batley and Dewsbury. Longer platforms and improved accessibility are the capital works, but a programme of ancillary works is built in too. Huddersfield station is undergoing extensive remodelling, including structural and passenger facility improvements, as part of a wider transformation due for completion in 2027.

“Significant progress has been made between Huddersfield and Leeds in recent months, and this next series of upgrades will allow us to take another step forward in what is a key stretch of the route and an important enabler for wider TRU plans across the North,” said Sophie Leishman, TRU sponsor. “Our teams will be working around the clock during these two months. I’d like to thank them as well as our local communities as we deliver these huge improvements to the railway.”

Fifteen extra freight paths on core route between ports

While the work continues at the trackside, the actual track is being replaced along the line. At Church Fenton, engineers will completely renew a 1,5-kilometre stretch of railway. These improvements, say Network Rail, will enable faster, quieter, greener and more frequent trains on this key line, linking the cities of York, Leeds and Manchester. The core of the Transpennine Route is also the core route between east and west coast ports, including Immingham and Hull in the east, and Liverpool, and potentially Salford in the west.

Network Rail has put in place extensive diversions for both weekends, including this coming Saturday and Sunday. Passenger service will be most affected, but freight operations are fewer at the weekends and more capable of taking on diversions. Anyway, freight replacement bus services just aren’t a thing. Network Rail point out that the past two years have seen an alternative route via Castleford (south of Leeds) undergo major work. “The benefits of this upgrade are coming to fruition as the line continues to serve as a vital diversion route able to carry an additional two trains per hour”, said an NR statement. A ‘freight-only’ curve to the west of Leeds station makes that avoiding route available without any need for complicated reversal manoeuvres.

Power to the people benefits freight

Network Rail is developing a proposal to move more goods by rail with up to 15 more freight trains each day on the route. These freight trains are expected to remove over 1,000 lorries off the roads each day. 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.

Over the course of the two weekends, engineering teams will install three kilometres of high-voltage cables alongside the railway between Leeds and Neville Hill. Network Rail say they will provide the power for the future electrification of the Transpennine Route east of Leeds planned for later this decade. Network Rail remains acutely aware of power supply issues on intensively used parts of the network. In some areas, notably the Edinburgh – Newcastle section of the East Coast Main Line, insufficient current supply issues require some capable bi-mode trains to run with diesel power while under the overloaded wires.

Develop further rail solutions

Since 2019, Biffa has successfully transported over 600,000 tonnes of inert waste by rail. In addition to the London operations, rail links were created with the northern cities of Manchester in 2017 and Leeds in 2018 to allow waste to be transported to Biffa’s landfill facility in Roxby, near Scunthorpe. Data has demonstrated a saving of over 11 million kilometres in tipper truck journeys by using rail, and 6,600 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Biffa’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions forms part of a wider initiative by the company to tackle climate change, which underpins Biffa’s long-term sustainability strategy, called ‘Resourceful, Responsible’. As part of this, the company has set a new target to transport 50 per cent of its input to landfill by rail by 2025, which looks set to be achieved.

“We are delighted to be Biffa’s partner in supporting them to reduce their carbon emissions”, said John Smith, managing director at GB Railfreight. “We look forward to continuing to develop further rail solutions with them to achieve their target of delivering 50 per cent of waste on rail.” With the continued collaboration between Biffa and GB Railfreight, it is hoped that the reduction in CO2 emissions will continue, making a significant contribution towards the UK’s efforts to combat climate change, and meet stringent legislation to make the economy net-zero by 2050.

Half by rail by 2025 target

In the last few years, Biffa has been developing its rail transport capabilities, transporting up to 27 per cent of its specialist waste types destined for landfill by rail. “Reducing our emissions has been a fundamental part of our business strategy”, said a statement from Biffa. “Over the past years, and we are continually evaluating how to sustainably optimise our operations. This achievement is a small but important step towards meeting the ambitious targets set out in our new sustainability strategy, which targets transporting 50 per cent of our waste to landfill sites by rail by 2025. We’re looking forward to the results with upcoming rail links and the overall aim to tackle climate change in the UK.”

Transportation and logistics remain an essential part of the service that Biffa provides, and the company is committed to continually reducing its impact in this area to curb emissions produced from its vehicles and improve air quality in towns and cities. Fuel usage accounts for a significant fraction of of Biffa’s carbon footprint, including approximately 90,000 tonnes of CO2 from the use of diesel alone. To help mitigate that, the waste management specialists added an extra 250,000 tonnes of capacity per year when they opened their third site in London at the end of 2020. The rail-served facility has proved effective in the drive towards the self-imposed target of half by rail by 2025. In the current environmental climate, that seems anything but … a waste.

Vital works says boss

The Easter weekend has become a traditional time for major engineering works on the British railway network. This Easter has been no different, even in the face of changing usage patterns on the network, with more leisure travel making weekends a busier time. Despite that, rail freight operators have been out in force, supporting a nationwide programme of improvements, ranging from track renewals, to bridge work and maintenance projects.

“Our Easter engineering programme has been carefully planned so the majority of the rail network will remain open for business”, said Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive. “Colleagues from Network Rail and our rail partners deliver 88 million pounds worth of investment during the course of the weekend [around 100 million euro]. These vital projects will upgrade the railway so that we can provide a better and more reliable service for our passengers and freight users in the future.”

Transpennine at Leeds

In these busy four days for the infrastructure agency, more than 12,000 metres of new rail and 33,000 tonnes of new ballast has been laid over the long weekend. As usual, Network Rail relies heavily on the rail freight sector to support operations. Several lines out of London were under possession, including the West Coast Main Line, out of London Euston. Further works will be taking place on the WCML, after the holiday weekend, as Network Rail is taking the opportunity presented by the closure of Carstairs Junction in Scotland for extensive upgrade works, including the provision of freight loops long enough to accommodate 775m trains.

Elsewhere, as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, Network Rail carried out a series of improvements around Leeds and Neville Hill over Easter. “The work this Easter is vital to the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme”, said Chris Nutton, Major Projects Director for TransPennine Express. Teams of engineers installed new overhead line equipment and other infrastructure work, to enhance capacity for mixed traffic.

Faster than ever – but not as fast as possible

Network Rail are working with a number of engineering partners and also with the operators on the route, including all the freight companies who move traffic over the heavily congested route. When the entire route is electrified, the permissible top speed will be raised above 100 miles per hour (160 kph) for the first time in almost two centuries of existence. “It is the first step towards a cleaner, greener, fully-electrified railway between York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester”, say Network Rail. “When the newly-installed wires are energised, they will allow more environmentally-friendly electric and hybrid trains to run at speeds of up to 125mph [200kph] – that’s 30mph [58kph] faster than they can currently run.”

No one is denying that the Transpennine Route is long overdue a major investment. However, there is no small measure of disappointment that project is only part of the wish list, that included a dedicated high-speed line across the Pennines, the mountain range that forms the backbone of England, and divides the cities of the north. Stakeholders in the North say that even the upgraded route will not have the desired additional capacity to satisfy all the various demands upon it – particularly local passenger and regional freight services.

The first major milestone says minister

Last year’s merry-go-round of government ministers has not helped, but none of those briefly charged with responsibility for transport matters has agreed to funding the cost of the tunnels required to route a new high-speed line through the Pennines. Nevertheless, that has not stopped the current rail minister from taking a bow as the wires have been installed. “Our multi-billion pound Transpennine Route Upgrade will transform journeys across the North of England, with faster, more frequent services and improved accessibility”, claimed Huw Merriman. “This is the first major milestone on the way to a fully electrified route between York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester, which will reduce journey times and save 87,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.”

How much of that carbon saved is dedicated to rail freight remains to be agreed. Paths for express, inter-urban passenger trains will undoubtedly take precedence. After all, the government will be keen to show off that new higher line speed to best effect. An intermodal train hauling containers from Hull to Liverpool doesn’t make as good a photo opportunity as a hybrid express from Leeds to Manchester.

Overnight benefits for freight

In fairness though, the four-track sections of the route, that include new sections, all electrified, will give those freight services an opportunity to share the stage with fashionably sleek passenger trains. The Colton to Church Fenton section does lend itself to being a public relations ambassador for the project. Over the last four months, engineers worked almost 9,000 hours to install a total of 37 miles (just over 59km) of overhead wire along this four-track stretch of line – around nine route miles (15km). “Work was carried out overnight at weekends to cause as little disruption to passengers as possible”, say Network Rail. It is worth noting that freight services will likely benefit most from overnight paths made available on the revamped route.

“When complete across the full 70-mile route [112km] across the Pennines, rail passengers will be helping to save up to 87,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year – the equivalent to 5.9 million car journeys along the same route”, say the Network rail team. We’re sure they mean freight as well. “For people living near the railway, it will also mean better air quality and quieter trains”, they add. “To maintain an equally eco-friendly construction, we assembled the new overhead line equipment locally at our nearby logistics hub and transported it to the site by train. Work to join the newly-installed wires into the existing overhead line equipment on the East Coast Main Line at Colton Junction will take place in the future, ahead of their energisation in 2024.”

Recovery crane required

In an update to the initial report issued by the safety watchdog, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, Network Rail has confirmed that the derailment involved one locomotive hauling 14 wagons, each filled with 80 tonnes of powdered cement, as it travelled between Clitheroe and Carlisle on Wednesday 21 October. Five of the wagons derailed shortly after 8pm at Petteril Bridge Junction, Carlisle. Network Rail has released trackside footage of the recovery scene.

Over the weekend, under the management of the UK infrastructure agency Network Rail, work continued to recover the distressed rolling stock. “Of the five wagons which came off the tracks, two have been righted on the rails, and the remaining three will need to be lifted out by crane”, said their statement. “Specialist contractors have been carefully emptying the wagons of all their cement – so each wagon’s 20 tonne weight can be lifted safely”, said Network Rail. “More than 110 tonnes of cement has been extracted from the five affected wagons so far. It’s estimated all of the material will be emptied from them by the start of [this] week.”

Freight services face long delays and detours

The UK Environment Agency is continuously monitoring the site. So far, they report that there have been no spillages into the River Petteril during the recovery process. Freight services face either long delays to route via the West Coast Main Line at quiet times (ostensibly overnight) or to use the East Coast, which is almost as busy. Passengers face replacement road transport which, although slower may not be too uncomfortable, given the relative age of the rail and road rolling stock.

“We continue our difficult work to recover the derailed freight wagons”, said Phil James, Network Rail’s North West route director. “We’re working with multiple agencies to get to a point where the recovery operation can end and our major railway repairs can begin. There is still a lot of work to be done until we get to that point over the next several weeks.” The agency will also have to assess the condition of the bridge which carries the junction, and was damaged in the incident.

Closed well into November

Clearing up the aftermath of the derailment continues to be complicated by several factors. This includes working in the difficult terrain where the 100 tonne wagons came to rest. To account for the unstable ground conditions, plans are still being finalised for the transportation and construction of the large crane needed to lift the wagons so they can be taken away by rail accident investigators. An initial report published by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch found that a fault with a train wheelset was the most likely cause of the derailment.

Network Rail has visited nearby properties to liaise residents and owners with more details of how the recovery and repair work could impact them. Rail lines are now expected to be closed well into November. This is impacting all traffic which would normally run on the Tyne Valley line between Carlisle and Newcastle and the Settle and Carlisle line between Carlisle, Appleby and Skipton, on to Leeds and the south.

Funds made available earlier than expected

Network Rail, the national infrastructure agency, now has the go-ahead to radically rebuild the line between Huddersfield and Dewsbury as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade. The scheme will see twice as many tracks installed, major renovations at Huddersfield, Deighton, Mirfield and Ravensthorpe stations, and the track layout radically redesigned.

The legal instrument – a Transport and Works Act Order – required for any project that involves building new sections of railway outside of the existing boundaries – was recently approved by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, six months earlier than expected. However, many observers believe that was only possible because funds were made available by the cancellation of plans for a dedicated high speed line across the Pennines, and ditching the Eastern Leg of HS2.

Essential for unlocking wider benefits

Nevertheless, Network Rail, charged with delivering the rebuilt line between Manchester and Leeds, and on to York, is confident it will deliver a new transport corridor. Not only will it help encourage economic growth in the North of England, Network Rail say these major improvements will ultimately deliver more frequent, faster trains along a cleaner, greener, more reliable railway.

“This is a massive success for the Transpennine Route Upgrade”, said Neil Holm, Transpennine Route Upgrade Director for Network Rail. “Work on this part of the route is essential for unlocking wider benefits between York and Manchester via Leeds and Huddersfield. It’ll allow us to run more trains along the route.”

The needs of freight observed

In a recent presentation to members of the Rail Freight Group, Holm explained how the project had been accommodating the needs of freight. “We’re approaching benefits realisation by looking at the whole railway system”, he said. “The key components of this are infrastructure, operations, timetable and rolling stock, [all of which] mean something to passengers, freight or stakeholders.

“TRU is a major, multi-billion programme of improvements that opens up a lot of opportunities for freight”, says Network Rail’s Holm. “We’re committed to working with freight industry partners to deliver these much-needed improvements. “[The] key next step for us is working to develop a TRU freight remit with the Department for Transport.”

Shapps semaphores intentions

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will likely sign off on the freight remit. With available funds now raised from the original project budget of around three billion pounds (3.6 billion euro) there should be some headroom. While the minister claims to have tripled the budget, there is some reaccounting in the process – a sharp practice the present UK government has been accused of more than once.

“I’m ensuring The North is at the forefront of the government’s Levelling Up agenda and guaranteeing gold standard services set to deliver greener, faster and reliable services through Northern Powerhouse Rail, electrification and additional train tracks”, he said in a written statement, somewhat undermined by an accompanying picture of two not exactly up-to-date semaphore signals … both set at halt.

Progress on ambitious plans

Neil Holm does admit that there will be disruption. It goes without saying that he, and every stakeholder would prefer to avoid that, but Network Rail is working to minimise the need for customers to do the wrong sort of modal shift. “Work continues this year to build resilience on our diversionary routes, begin preparations in Huddersfield and continue electrification work [between] Manchester – Stalybridge and York – Church Fenton.

“This requires all the industry delivery partners to work collaboratively to realise these benefits”, added Holm. “Everybody has shown support and provided feedback on our plans throughout the planning process. Now we have this approval, we can progress our ambitious plans and designs and continue to work with communities on what’s to come.”

A shorter, cheaper ECML connection

The crucial part of the report suggests a shorter, cheaper way to connect HS2 to the ECML. “Strategic Alternatives to High Speed 2 Phase 2b” proposes a past of the original plans be built from Birmingham to Nottingham, and then a new alignment be built from there to Newark, on the ECML. Other upgrades are proposed to both the Midland Main Line between London and Nottingham and the East Coast Main Line between London and Newark and destinations to the north, including Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

Some of the originally planned HS2 infrastructure around Leeds would be required to provide a path in that city. However, north of Nottingham, there would not be a dedicated line, as proposed initially, meaning Chesterfield, Sheffield, and Rotherham would be served along existing, albeit upgraded tracks.

West and east freight diversionary routes

Freight services are less well served by the proposals. However, the report recognises some difficulties, particularly around Doncaster, where several UK freight companies have extensive operations. “Conflicts between freight and mainline services are a significant constraint in the Doncaster station area”, notes the report. It suggests a variety of easements, including a diversionary route to the west of the city, via South Kirby and Ferrybridge, and some remodelling within Doncaster to provide more capacity to avoid the passenger station.

A more radical proposal includes comprehensive remodelling at Doncaster Station and a freight bypass to the east. Despite the operational convenience of this ultimate plan, the report does, however, note extensive engineering issues with this proposal. It should be noted that extensive works were only recently completed at Doncaster station to improve the public realm, and the local authority may not be too excited about the prospect of starting any time again soon.

Proposals deliver benefits ten years earlier

Andrew Jones is a member of the ruling Conservative Party and was the Rail Minister in an earlier government. He is the standing co-chair of the Transport Across The North All Party Parliament Group, a dedicated cross-party forum to promote discussion and investment in all modes of transport across the North of England. In September, he urged the government to deliver the HS2 Eastern Leg – which would have reached Leeds, only a few miles from his constituency.

“I asked about that in the House of Commons”, he told the Harrogate Advertiser newspaper. “HS2 would not have reached Leeds until the 2040s. These proposals deliver benefits ten years earlier than that. That is good for the levelling up agenda but especially positive for our environment. The plans deliver a range of benefits for the north – benefits in terms of new lines, increased capacity and improved journey times.”

Rethink say civic leaders

However, a battalion of influential voices has rallied against the views of Jones. Former UK Chancellor and newspaper editor George Osborne, who now splits his team between the lobby group Northern Powerhouse Partnership and investment banking, expects the government to change its mind on scrapping the Eastern Leg.

Urging that course of action, a coalition of civic leaders issued a statement, urging a rethink too. Andy Burnham, the outspoken elected mayor of Greater Manchester, said history would not look kindly on the Transport board for the north if it just accepted that this was all the north was going to get. “We have been discussing these proposals for years and what we got was a different solution imposed on us without discussion”, he said.

Andrew Jones, though, saw positives in the Integrated Rail Plan. “Rail freight has sometimes been a second-tier priority for the railways, but the new transpennine plan has improved clearances. That may not sound much, but bigger containers will be able to use the route. It is something the rail freight industry has long called for and will take thousands of HGVs [heavy goods vehicles] off the M62 [east-west motorway connecting Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool]. I believe the east-west plans in the north are excellent for both people and freight.”

He compared the congested M62 motorway, which links TfN headquarters in Manchester with Liverpool and Leeds, as the slow lane to economic growth in the twenty-first century. Having waited over a year and a half for the UK government’s integrated rail plan to be published, he questioned the progress on London’s stated intention to ‘level-up’ – an exercise in bringing the economic performance of the North in line with the booming South East and London.

Industry and government backing for development

Referring to this week’s Railway Industry Association sponsored report, published on Monday and reported here, Wood said the economic benefits of rail were clearly established. “We have just seen the latest information coming from the Oxford Economic Review that for every pound spent in rail, there is two pounds fifty coming back in terms of the gross value added”, he said.

Making reference to historic cutbacks, and the notorious Castlefield Corridor bottleneck through central Manchester, Wood added that the problem in the north of England is a lack of capacity. “We see freight trains trundling through Manchester Piccadilly. That is just not right in the twenty-first century. We see Bradford and Leeds eight miles [13 kilometres] apart and twenty-odd minutes on a train. That just cannot be right. Quite frankly we are still in the back lane.”

We need London to believe in us

Representing local government in the region, Mayor Tracy Brabin of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (the community hosting the meeting in Leeds) said there was a great opportunity for transformational change resting on the shoulders of the government in London. She backed up Tim Wood, by noting that eighty-eight percent of journeys between Leeds and Bradford were made by road.

Mayor Brabin said that by far the most carbon-intensive phase of rail development was in the initial construction and that the overall emissions burden had to be considered within the context of the 120-year lifespan of the infrastructure. “We just need [London] to believe in us and to give us the power and the money to deliver. We have proved we can deliver on time, on budget. We just need the political word from the government.”

Ground breaking work in rail logistics

Maggie Simpson, director general of the Rail Freight Group, made the strongest case for linking economic development in the North with development and a shift to rail freight. She put the long-term benefits into perspective by addressing current issues facing the regional, national and global economies. “We have seen the supply chain challenged in the last two years”, she said. “Everything from toilet rolls, to carbon dioxide, to semiconductors, to the current demand for natural gas. How can we help minimise the impact on the global scale if you are today an exporter sitting in Manchester and you wish to send your goods away but you can’t find an HGV [truck] driver?”

Simpson said that options for transport by rail were limited. With the rail network at capacity and further expansion proposals stalled, inefficient road transport was the only option available. Simpson did however say that efforts were being made. “To help decarbonise freight, Transport for the North themselves have been doing some groundbreaking work on rail logistics, exploring potential for the region to help businesses do better.”

New Industrial Revolution coming down the tracks

While both the national infrastructure agency Network Rail, and the company delivering the new railway between London and Birmingham – HS2 Limited – claim their part in progressing the cause for rail freight by installing more capacity overall, such as the recently completed signalling upgrade which serves the Castlefield Corridor, Simpson says there are fundamental issues that need a step-change in attitude and investment to put the North into a position of rail-based commerce – a state of affairs that existed in the early part of the Industrial Revolution, and would, in itself be just as revolutionary.

Simpson identified what she sees as the key issues. “I don’t want to see freight trains trundling through the Castlefield Corridor, either”, she said. I want to see them coming through at line speed. Can we look at choices of how we move freight across the region in a pragmatic and sensible way. How can Transport for the North help other devolved and subnational bodies, because freight is not measured at local level. These are global supply chains, and we need to look quite rightly and properly at what we do in this region to improve transport for the benefits of all users.”

Transport for the North have made their Annual Conference available online. As the powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution, the North of England very much shaped the modern world. It did so on the back of the first rail network. If the area is to be revolutionised again, then it is to the technology of the railway that the region looks to again for the way forward.