New battery-powered trains to ‘bring faster journeys to the north’

A fleet of battery-powered trains is to be built to “bring faster, more reliable journeys to the north”, Downing Street has announced.

The 29 trains, which will be run by TransPennine Express, will be built at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane works in Derby from 2028, supporting 350 local jobs, and nearly 6,000 across the UK, according to the government.

The fleet will be made up of Adessia Stream trains, a battery-powered model that will be the first of its kind to be used for long-distance mainline journeys in the UK when it enters service in 2034.

Andy Burnham, who has repeatedly championed public transport and now travels between No 10 offices in London and Manchester, highlighted the need for more reliable and efficient services, with the new trains pitched as making journeys between major northern cities shorter while increasing capacity on rail networks by 30% in the next decade.

The trains will cut the journey time between Manchester and Leeds by up to 10 minutes, and between Manchester and York by up to 14 minutes.

The prime minister said: “I’ve lost count of the number of times someone has stopped me to tell me about the train that never came. And when that happens, it means missed shifts, missed appointments and missed opportunities.

“Today that starts to change. These 29 new trains will bring faster, more reliable journeys to the north, and thousands of British jobs for the next generation.

“It’s exactly what Great British Railways is all about – taking back control of the basics and getting Britain believing again.”

As well as speed and capacity, the new trains are set to run without emissions, even on non-electrified stretches of the network, while also having level-access boarding and onboard wifi.

The Transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said the plans were a sign of how Great British Railways “will deliver better journeys for people while backing British business” and allowing passengers to “wave goodbye to overcrowded, delayed diesel trains and step onboard faster electric trains which are fit for the future”.

Alstom, the French train ⁠maker, said the contract was worth about €1.2bn (£1bn), including about €930m for the rolling stock and €230m in maintenance agreements. The latter will run for eight years, with the potential for a further eight-year extension.

The company said the fleet of trains, which will be 121 metres long and run at speeds of up to 110mph, will be delivered from 2032.

Charging infrastructure will be installed in Hull, Scarborough and Saltburn – a UK-first on the mainline network – allowing the fleet to be recharged during normal operations.

“This agreement is a landmark moment for Britain’s railway,” said Rob Whyte, Alstom’s managing director in the UK. “The fleet will transform journeys across northern England while showcasing the very best of British engineering, innovation and advanced manufacturing.”