To provide a source of talent for future rail leaders in the North of England, the Transpennine Route Upgrade is taking on one apprentice for every £4 million spent on the programme.

Around 80% of the staff that the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade employs, including 177 apprentices, comes from within the local area on the line being electrified between Manchester and York, via Huddersfield and Leeds.

Alex Marsden, who is an apprentice Civil Engineer working on the Transpennine Route Upgrade East Alliance, said: “It’s very exciting for me being on such a high-profile project this early in my career. I aspire to become a chartered Civil Engineer in the future and this apprenticeship gives me both the qualifications and the practical experience I need to do that.”

Neil Holm, Managing Director of the Transpennine Route Upgrade said: “Providing opportunities for local people to advance their careers in the rail industry through apprenticeships is key to the success of Transpennine Route Upgrade.

“We want to provide skills for life to every apprentice that joins our team, and I’m proud of the incredible work being done by our apprentices so far, with many more to join us as the TRU journey continues.”

More information about apprenticeships with the Transpennine Route Upgrade can be found online at https://www.networkrail.co.uk/careers/early-careers/apprenticeships/

The Transpennine Route Upgrade will transform journeys across the North of England by providing better connections between towns and cities through more frequent and faster trains running on a cleaner, greener, and more reliable railway.

The upgrade will provide more trains and more seats between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, and York, with up to six fast services every hour between Leeds and Manchester, and up to two stopping services for local stations.

The fastest journey times between Manchester and York are forecast to be just 63-66 minutes and 41-42 minutes between Manchester and Leeds.

The upgrade will provide greener travel, with a reduction in carbon footprint and improvement in air quality by saving up to 87,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year in line with the government’s Net Zero objectives.

Network Rail is also developing a proposal to move more goods by rail with up to 15 more freight trains each day, which between them are expected to remove over 1,000 lorries off the road every day.

Network Rail is aiming that 60% of its staff should come from within a 25-mile radius of the route, and 80% from within a 40-mile radius. It currently employs around 2000 people but estimates that could double over the course of the upgrade.