£1bn Order for 29 Battery-Electric Trains to Speed Up Journeys Across the North

A £1 billion investment in 29 new battery-electric trains has been announced for the North of England, in a deal the Government says will deliver faster, more reliable journeys and thousands of British jobs.

What has been ordered

The fleet will be built by Alstom at its Litchurch Lane works in Derby and operated by TransPennine Express. The Adessia Stream units are the first battery-electric trains ordered for long-distance main line service in the UK, able to run without emissions over sections of route that have not been electrified.

Production is due to begin in 2028, with the trains expected to enter passenger service from the end of 2034. They will be bought by rolling stock company Rock Rail and leased to TransPennine Express, with the Government investing directly into Alstom as part of the contract.

Faster journeys and more seats

Journey times between Manchester and Leeds are expected to fall by up to 10 minutes, with up to 14 minutes cut between Manchester and York. Trans-Pennine capacity could rise by around 30% by the mid-2030s.

Routes set to benefit include Liverpool Lime Street to Scarborough, Manchester Airport to Saltburn, and Manchester Piccadilly to Hull.

Passengers will also see step-free boarding, more wheelchair spaces, family areas, cycle and buggy storage, and onboard Wi-Fi.

Jobs and supply chain

The Government says the programme will support more than 350 jobs in Derby and close to 6,000 roles across the wider UK supply chain, sustaining skills in train building, systems integration and maintenance for the next generation of rail engineers.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said the order would "bring faster, more reliable journeys to the North, and thousands of British jobs for the next generation", describing it as part of what Great British Railways is intended to deliver by taking back control of the basics.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the investment showed how Great British Railways "will deliver better journeys for people while backing British business", adding that passengers would be able to "wave goodbye to overcrowded, delayed diesel trains".

What it means for competence and assessment

Orders of this scale change the skills picture as well as the timetable. Battery-electric traction, new depot equipment and higher service frequency all create demand for competent traction and rolling stock technicians, engineering operatives and train drivers, and for the assessment that proves that competence.

At Railway Competence Group we support employers across the industry with independent end-point assessment for rail apprenticeships and with Train Driver Psychometric Testing for candidates and recruiters. As fleets like this move from order to delivery, employers planning intakes now will be the ones ready to run them.

Source: The Independent, 11 September 2026.