Skip to main content

Government invests in northern digital railway plans to improve trans-Pennine

The UK government is developing plans for Britain’s first digital intercity railway in the north, as it invests US$17.5 billion (£13 billion) in improving journeys across the region. The UK government is developing plans for Britain’s first digital intercity railway in the north, as it invests US$17.5 billion (£13 billion) in improving journeys across the region.
September 25, 2017 Read time: 1 min

The UK government is developing plans for Britain’s first digital intercity railway in the north, as it invests US$17.5 billion (£13 billion) in improving journeys across the region.

As part of the Great North Rail Project, major upgrades are being developed for the TransPennine route between Manchester, Leeds and York from 2022 - to slash journey times between Leeds and Manchester to 40 minutes.

Digital signalling technology is already in operation on the London Underground and 5021 Network Rail will now develop options to make the TransPennine route the first digitally controlled intercity rail line in the country.

Network Rail will receive up to US$6.7 million (£5 million) to develop proposals for embedding digital technology between Manchester and York, including a system of advanced train traffic management – so that a computer works out how to route the trains most efficiently along the line.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Mobilising data for the future of urban transport
    August 8, 2018
    It's not just gathering the data that's important, says Johan Herrlin - it's making sure that transport organisations share it with one another that will determine travellers' satisfaction. Data is transforming the way we move around cities, from family car journeys to the daily train commute. Gone are the days when travelling from A to B meant remembering your AA map and having to ask for directions at regular intervals. If you were trying to navigate London as a tourist a mere decade ago, it required
  • USDOT to fund transit improvements across the country
    September 17, 2015
    The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced that 21 organisations around the country will receive a share of US$19.5 million in grants to support comprehensive planning projects that improve access to public transit. The funds are made available through FTA’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning Pilot Program for communities that are developing new or improved mass transit systems.
  • New York pioneers online mobile real-time bus tracking
    May 22, 2012
    An unusual technology collaboration. David Crawford investigates Early in January 2012, the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) rolled out the first borough-wide implementation of its pioneering Bus Time online mobile real-time tracking service. The system allow commuters to track each bus on every route in real-time on the internet, via smartphones and by text messaging to a mobile phone. The MTA chose Staten Island for its first live launch due to it being the only one of the five Ne
  • Transportation hub the centre of sustainable urban development
    November 21, 2012
    A marriage of transit, technology and culture is taking shape in Minneapolis, with ITS systems vital to hopes for a sustainable development centred on a hub of public transportation. Construction started in July this year on ‘The Interchange’ – a station in the Midwest US city of Minneapolis claimed as the most spectacular expression yet of the fast-spreading North American concept of transit-oriented development (TOD). Due for completion in 2014, the Interchange is designed as a multi-modal public transpor