No 10 has announced the construction of a new fleet of battery-powered trains that will “bring faster, more reliable journeys to the north”.
The 29 new trains, which will be run by TransPennine Express, are set to be built in Alstom’s Litchurch Lane works in Derby from 2028, which the government says will support 350 local jobs, as well as nearly 6,000 across the UK.
The new 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.
Prime minister Andy Burnham, who uses trains regularly to move between 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.
Burnham 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 more accessible step-free boarding and onboard wifi.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander also praised the announcement, calling it 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”.
