Northern digital railway transforming the trans-Pennine route

The Government has announced plans to invest in Britain’s first digital intercity railway.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has confirmed the Trans-Pennine route, running between Leeds and Manchester, will benefit from major upgrades that will slash journey times. Part of the development will see the introduction of digital signalling technology, which is already in operation on the London Underground, making it the first digitally controlled intercity rail line in the country.

The investment is part of a record £13Bn committed by the government to improve journeys across the region.

The upgrades come as part of the Great North Rail Project, which will include journeys to York from 2022 – and will slash journey times between Leeds and Manchester to 40 minutes.

Some £5M in investment will be given to Network Rail to develop proposals for embedding the digital technology between Manchester and York, and help deliver a more reliable and safer railway. This includes looking at a system of advanced train traffic management – so that a computer works out how to route the trains most efficiently along the line.

The investment in northern rail routes comes as part of the huge modernisation of rail infrastructure, perhaps the biggest investment since the steam age, seeing £40Bn directed to improve the rail network across the country.

This work also sees the development of HS2 to include networks in the north, while Pacer trains will be scrapped across the region in 2019

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “We are about to see a digital revolution in our railways, and we want the north to lead the way.

“New technology on the Manchester to York route will help us deliver a more reliable and safer railway, with more space for passengers.

“Travel will be transformed across the north as we invest £13Bn to improve journeys, expand our motorways, scrap the outdated Pacer trains, and spend £55Bn on HS2 to cut journey times between our great northern cities.”

Work to deliver improvements to the TransPennine railway line have already begun, with the Great North Rail Project already delivering improved services between Liverpool and Manchester, with the fastest journey cut by 15 minutes, new direct services between Manchester Airport and Glasgow, and the upgrade of Manchester Victoria station.

The government is working with Rail North and councils across the region on the project, and Network Rail is working on plans for the upgrade.

 

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