The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) has released its first Sustainable Development Report, highlighting significant achievements in sustainability from April 2019 to March 2024. The £10.7bn rail programme, which spans Manchester to York, is committed to leaving a positive legacy across the North, balancing environmental protection, economic growth, and community engagement.
Key sustainability milestones achieved by TRU include:
- Environmental Impact:
- Creation of new habitats across 25 football fields of land.
- Reuse of 20,000 tonnes of soil and 13,000 tonnes of aggregate.
- Implementation of carbon training to reduce CO2 emissions.
- Electrification of the Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge route.
- Social Impact:
- Employment of 270 apprentices, with a target of 590.
- Local sourcing of materials and workforce recruitment.
- Improved accessibility at stations, including step-free access for 99% of customers.
- Extensive community engagement, including volunteering and educational initiatives.
- Delivery of £1.4bn in social value to the North.
Jo Griffiths, TRU Programme Director, said: “We launched ‘Our Guiding Compass’ to challenge the programme to integrate best-in-class sustainable development principles throughout our design and construction phases – a focus shared across the whole Enterprise.
“By adopting an Enterprise-wide approach to delivering TRU, we are already seeing benefits in supporting our customers throughout our work.
“We’ve also challenged station designs and enhancing connecting services to improve accessibility and connectivity.”
Anna Humphries, TRU Head of Sustainability, said: “TRU has been striving to be industry leading in Sustainability since 2019 and we have seen great success to date, delivering value to our local communities through extensive engagement with schools and creating employment opportunities for young people across the route.
“I and the rest of the leadership team are extremely proud of what we have delivered to date – an industry leading approach to sustainability which we are sharing back into Network Rail and across the rail and construction sectors.
“TRU has a long journey ahead, but our strategy and our partners are setting us up to deliver a sustainable railway fit for all of our communities and for the future.”
The full TRU Sustainable Development Report can be viewed here: Sustainable Development Report 2024 – Transpennine Route Upgrade
