Unlocking faster, greener journeys Over the last few weeks, colleagues working on the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) have been hard at work completing several impressive milestones across five consecutive weekends of critical work between Leeds and York. Murphy is working on TRU as part of the TRU East Alliance, formed of Network Rail, Murphy, Siemens, Systra and VolkerRail. The recent works, which will support the electrification of the railway, have included: Following overhead line equipment (OLE) mast installation earlier in the year, 7.5km of wiring has now been completed between Micklefield and Church Fenton, which will unlock faster, greener journeys in the future. Just to the east of this location, electric passenger services between York and Church Fenton are set to launch in the coming months, following last year’s successful switch-on between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge. In Cross Gates, Station Road bridge was also safely demolished and replaced so that OLE can be installed throughout the area. You can watch the project team carrying out the bridge replacement in the video below. Around 750m of track was renewed between Killingbeck and Cross Gates, which will support smoother, more reliable travel. A new track crossover was also installed, allowing trains to switch lines more easily and give the TRU programme more flexibility for future upgrades. TRU will ultimately see 70-miles of fully electric, digital railway revolutionise travel in the North of England. In addition to the milestone already reached, future 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 andWesttown 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, helping passengers and freight on the move while the core Transpennine route is closed to deliver essential upgrades. This will provide capacity and reliability improvements for the future too. HIGHLIGHTS Several impressive milestones completed across five consecutive weekends of critical work between Leeds and York 7.5km of wiring now completed between Micklefield and Church Fenton Station Road bridge safely demolished and replaced 750m of track was renewed between Killingbeck and Cross Gates
