As of today (Tuesday, 5th August 2025), thousands of passengers can benefit from faster rail journeys across the North East of England as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) project has officially been completed between York and Church Fenton.

This stage is part of the larger £11 billion TRU programme, which has finished on time and within budget. In the weeks leading up to completion, five consecutive weekend closures were needed to complete the work on the final pieces of this stage of the project.

All the stations between York and Church Fenton have seen several upgrades, while the new signalling system installed along the route will bring more reliable and faster services.

TransPennine Express’ new electric trains are not only greener than the trains they are replacing, reducing 108,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, but they are also faster.

Trains will now be able to run direct from Manchester Victoria to York via Stalybridge and Church Fenton, cutting journey times between York and Leeds by 10 minutes while journeys between Leeds and Manchester will become 8 minutes quicker, with both ends of the route now fully electrified.

The quicker services will enable 6 fast trains per hour to run, offering more seats and fast journeys for regular commuters, leisure travellers and speeding up the growth of business across the region.

The Transpennine Route Upgrade is part of the Government’s investment in vital transport infrastructure across the UK to unlock growth. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was one of the first passengers on the faster train services from Leeds to York.

“Today is a moment of celebration for a project that will transform train travel for millions of passengers across the North. More reliable, efficient trains are now running on 25% of the full TransPennine route.

We are delivering on our Plan for Change by upgrading rail links across the North – slashing journey times between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.

Electrification between Church Fenton and York was delivered on time and on budget, this government is investing in ambitious projects and seeing them through, delivering change in areas that desperately need it.

This upgrade is about opportunity, not just by expanding and improving people’s travel options, but by creating more than 5,000 new jobs and supporting 6,500 new homes, kickstarting economic growth in the areas that need it most.”

Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander