The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) has revealed its strategy that aims at improving the lives of millions of people in the North of England by 2035.
With the aim of slashing railway carbon emissions, the TRU is also creating and safeguarding thousands of local jobs and delivering more than £4bn in social value with a further £4bn in well-being.
The TRU guiding compass states the upgrade includes 70 miles of track, 29 new level crossings and 23 train stations.
By electrifying the 70-mile train line between York and Manchester, TRU will provide a cleaner, more environmentally friendly railway.
Additionally, by reducing negative environmental effects during construction and enriching the surrounding natural environment, it will help reduce carbon emissions.
With the route renovation concentrating on offering benefits to passengers including more dependable and efficient train trips, the quickest trip between Manchester and York is expected to take only 63–66 minutes.
According to Network Rail, as part of TRU’s sustainability strategy, they will also deliver other important environmental benefits which include a 10% net gain in biodiversity, 90% of construction waste to be recycled and 99% of all non-hazardous materials diverted from landfills.
Nicola Martin, head of sustainability for TransPennine Express, highlighted the impact of the route upgrade in terms of sustainability: “People and the environment are at the heart of Our Guiding Compass. This is so important today, in a world where people are more informed about the pressures on the environment.
“The investments being made through the Transpennine Route Upgrade will bring welcome improvements to our rail network and will attract and retain customers who seek to travel in a low carbon way”.
The TRU guiding compass also states that the goals of their project are overarched by two main objectives.
These objectives include delivering a minimum 50p value to society for every £1 spent on construction on the TRU programme, with another objective of achieving the BREEAM Infrastructure V6 Whole Project Award ‘Excellent’ rating.
Additionally, the programme is able to create 4,000 new jobs during construction, with 60% of workers coming from within 25 miles and 80% from within 40 miles of the route.
To develop a diverse team that represents the communities along the Transpennine route, 20% of the team will come from underrepresented groups.
