The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is a major investment being made in the railway between York and Manchester via Leeds and Huddersfield in the north of England. It is the 76 miles (122 km) northern route over the Pennines,[1] most of which is also known as the Huddersfield line. As of 2024[update], the line is heavily used but is slow and lacks capacity.[2] It has Victorian infrastructure, covers difficult terrain including the 3-mile (4.8 km) Standedge Tunnel, and has poor access roads.
Since the closure of the Woodhead line, there are three remaining transpennine rail lines that connect Lancashire and Yorkshire. To the south of the Huddersfield line is the Hope Valley line which traverses even more difficult terrain including the 3.5-mile (5.6 km) Totley Tunnel, and which in 2021 was allocated £137 million investment to improve capacity and connectivity between Manchester and Sheffield.[3][4] To the north the Calder Valley line connects Manchester and Leeds via Rochdale and Bradford (where trains have to reverse). This line has been strengthened to allow its use as a diversionary route while the Huddersfield line is upgraded.[5]
Reopening the Woodhead line as a potential alternative Pennine crossing was ruled out early on.[6] The Skipton–East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership is a campaign that is seeking the reopening of the 12-mile (19 km) railway line that used to run between the Lancashire town of Colne and the Yorkshire town of Skipton. This could provide an additional transpennine route for both a commuter service and a relief transpennine freight route.[7][8]