HomeElectrificationNew Managing Director of the Transpennine Route Upgrade

New Managing Director of the Transpennine Route Upgrade

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James Richardson has today been announced as the new managing director of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, the multi-billion railway electrification scheme delivering faster, cleaner and greener journeys for millions of people across the north of England.

Highly experienced in major programmes, James is currently Managing Director of the Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture delivering the HS2 London tunnels.

James said: “Leading this ambitious infrastructure programme of national importance is a huge source of pride for me. It will benefit millions of people by improving the connectivity between towns and cities.

“TRU is making fantastic progress and already demonstrating how complex infrastructure can be delivered safely and efficiently. I can’t wait to get started working with such talented teams and individuals in order to see that continue to develop.”

James, whose home company is Skanska, has held posts as Infrastructure MD and Rail Sector Director, and brings many years of experience working in the rail, road and energy industries on programmes including HS1, M25DBFO, Crossrail, Northern Hub, Wessex Capacity Alliance and Thameslink.

This summer TRU awarded contracts of around £3bn with the West and East alliances, and passengers are now benefiting from the first electric train service operating between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge. The programme, which employs 5000 people is fully mobilised with 70 worksites across 70 miles, from York to Manchester, alive with activity.

Welcoming James, Rob McIntosh, Network Rail’s North West and Central Managing Director said: “Given the scale of our works – one of the biggest programmes in Europe and carried out on a live railway – I am really happy we’ve appointed a very capable leader who can manage our unique challenges and lead TRU to continued success.”

James will take up his post on TRU in the new year.

Costing around £11bn, the Transpennine Route Upgrade combines track, train, timetable and delivery partners all working together to deliver a reliable electric railway for passengers and support economic growth. It has invested £500m with local businesses so far and is recruiting sustainably with 85% of the team living within 40 miles of the scheme.

TRU is already halfway to achieving one target of awarding 600 apprenticeships, and well on with delivering 25,000 hours of volunteering in the community. The programme is also committed to engaging with over 100,000 young people through the inclusive education scheme.

Ensuring there is step-free access at stations across the route with more services and faster, cleaner, greener trains, TRU will aim to remove up to 2000 lorries a day from our roads with increased capacity for freight.

When TRU is complete, the objective is to halve the time lost to delays on fast trans-Pennine services with up to 15% quicker journeys between York and Manchester on more reliable electric trains. That’s great news for passengers, communities, local economies and the environment.

Image credit: Network Rail


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