Rail Minister Huw Merriman has confirmed plans as part of the government’s most recent £3.9 billion investment into the Transpennine route upgrade (TRU) to build a new maintenance facility in Shipley.
Around £100 million will be provided to deliver what will be known as the Shipley TrainCare Centre, which will provide extra resilience to the North of England’s rail network.
With construction set to begin this year, the new maintenance facility will be home to Northern’s electric fleet of trains operating across West Yorkshire, bringing essential maintenance works closer to the centre of the north Transpennine route, leading to increased reliability for passengers.
Neil Holm, Managing Director of TRU, said: “We’re delighted to reveal our plans for this major investment in Shipley, demonstrating the Transpennine route upgrade’s commitment to supporting local communities and creating local jobs.
“This brand new depot will support rail services while we carry out essential improvements and will also leave long-lasting legacy benefits for the town going forward.”
Rob Warnes, Strategic Development Director for Northern, said: “We’re delighted to announce this investment in our brand new TrainCare Centre for Shipley. As the future home for most of our electric train fleets for West Yorkshire, the new site will bring a wealth of highly-skilled jobs into the region, as well as providing resilience for our network across the North.
“It will play a key part in helping us to deliver our plans for the Transpennine route upgrade and beyond.”
As many as 100 highly skilled jobs will be supported at the site, as well as apprenticeships.
Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, said: “We welcome this major investment in Shipley, which is another vote of confidence in the district from industry and further positions Bradford as a great place to do business.
“The new depot will be an important part of operating rail in the north of England, increasing service reliability for rail service users. A new state-of-the-art facility such as this is one of the many tangible improvements to the rail network we are supporting, delivering greener, more accessible trains across the north.
“Increasing employment opportunities and developing skills through regeneration are key priorities for the council, so it’s great to hear that local jobs will be created to facilitate this project in the immediate term, as well as 92 permanent skilled posts being created in the longer term.”
