The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) has this week welcomed Leader of Bradford Council, Susan Hinchcliffe, Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw and Councillor Liz Rowe to its Shipley site, where the programme is investing over £100 million in the construction of a new TrainCare Centre.
The rail depot will initially be used to house and maintain Northern’s fleet of electric trains on the Airedale and Wharfedale Lines while access to itsNeville Hill depot in Leeds is restricted during a future phase of TRU in 2028, reducing impact on rail services for customers.
Northern will keep the depot open following the completion of TRU with up to 100 permanent employees.
The site has now been completely cleared and flattened, with all contaminated soil from its former use as a scrapyard moved away. A large retaining wall has also now been installed along the western edge of the site which will enable the safe construction and operation of the main facility.
Adam Sellers, TRU senior sponsor, said: “Great progress has been made with enabling works at our Shipley site, so we were delighted to have our Bradford Council colleagues see this firsthand, and to provide a detailed update on the benefits this site will bring to not just railway resilience in West Yorkshire, but the local economy.
“TRU is committed to supporting local communities and providing local jobs, and this new depot will ensure we leave a positive lasting legacy in the town.”
Rob Warnes, strategic development director for Northern added: “It is fantastic to see the initial work that has been done at Shipley to prepare for the delivery of the brand new TrainCare Centre which will be the future home for most of our electric train fleets in West Yorkshire.
“Not only is the delivery of this new site vital for delivering future work taking place as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, it will also bring highly skilled jobs into the local area and provide key resilience for our network in this part of the world.”
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, commented: “It’s great to see this major investment in Shipley begin to take shape, which is another vote of confidence in the district from the industry and further positions Bradford as a great place to do business.
“Today I saw firsthand how the new depot will be an important part of operating rail in the north of England, increasing service reliability for rail users, as well as its role in increasing employment opportunities for local people and developing skills through regeneration.
“I’d like to thank TRU and Northern for bringing us up to speed with the project, it’s great to see such progress being made.”
Image credit: Network Rail
