The Department for Transport has announced an approximately £1 billion investment in 29 new battery-electric trains for TransPennine Express. The trains are to be built at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane Works in Derby.
The fleet is expected to be built from 2028 and enter passenger service from winter 2034. This is a planned investment and delivery programme, not confirmation that the trains are already under construction.
DfT says the battery-electric fleet will be the first of its kind on a UK main-line route. Its battery capability is intended to allow the trains to operate without emissions on sections of route that are not electrified.
The planned trains are intended to operate services including Liverpool Lime Street to Scarborough, Manchester Airport to Saltburn, and Manchester Piccadilly to Hull. Rock Rail will buy the trains and lease them to TransPennine Express.
DfT says Manchester-Leeds journey times could be reduced by up to 10 minutes, while Manchester-York journeys could be up to 14 minutes quicker. These are projected benefits associated with the planned fleet and programme, rather than results already delivered.
The investment is also intended to support an ambition for a 30% increase in Transpennine Route Upgrade capacity. DfT says this could add thousands of seats daily across the Pennines by the early to mid-2030s. The department links the deal to the proposed Great British Railways model and the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme.
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The trains are planned to include level boarding, three wheelchair spaces, two accessible toilets, family areas, Wi-Fi, luggage space, and storage for cycles and buggies. These features are part of the stated design for the fleet.
DfT says the project will support more than 350 skilled jobs at Alstom, as well as 40 apprentices and 40 students. It estimates that almost 6,000 UK supply-chain jobs will be supported and puts the wider economic contribution at around £360 million.
Alstom’s Derby site is the planned manufacturing location. With construction expected to begin in 2028 and passenger service scheduled from winter 2034, the programme involves several years between the start of the build and the intended introduction of the trains.
The proposed battery capability is designed to let the trains operate electrically across routes containing non-electrified sections, rather than requiring continuous overhead electrification along the entire journey. The project therefore combines new rolling stock with the wider capacity ambitions associated with the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
The announcement establishes the planned funding, manufacturing arrangement and delivery framework for the 29-train fleet. Construction, entry into service, journey-time improvements and the capacity increase remain future programme objectives set out by the department.
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