First steelwork goes up at Shipley TrainCare Centre as stated funding passes £160m

Network Rail has installed the first steelwork for the Shipley TrainCare Centre in West Yorkshire, the depot the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is building to house Northern's electric fleet, it announced on 29 October.

The steel will form the framework of the new facility. TRU showed it to Anna Dixon, MP for Shipley, Councillor Eleanor Thomson and Michael Sasse, rail policy manager at WYCA, during a site visit on Friday 23 October.

Network Rail said the facility had already received over £160m of funding and would turn a former brownfield site into the permanent home of Northern's electric train fleet in West Yorkshire once work is complete.

Euan Smith, director of fleet at Northern, said: "The Shipley TrainCare Centre will play a key role in allowing Northern to continue to deliver services for customers across the region while upgrades will be carried out at Neville Hill."

Why the depot is being built

According to Network Rail, the depot will let trains keep running on the Airedale and Wharfedale lines while major work takes place in and around the Neville Hill TrainCare Centre during a future phase of TRU improvements.

The latest release gives no date for that phase. In March 2026 Network Rail said access to Neville Hill depot in Leeds would be restricted during a future phase of TRU in 2028.

Network Rail said the Shipley centre would bring up to 100 skilled jobs to the area, which would remain after TRU is complete. Its March 2026 and March 2024 releases both said Northern would keep the depot open after the upgrade with up to 100 permanent employees.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said in March 2024 that the site would support as many as 100 highly skilled jobs and apprenticeships.

Adam Sellers, TRU senior sponsor, said: "TRU is committed to supporting local communities and providing local jobs, and this new depot will ensure we leave a positive lasting legacy in the town."

The funding figure

The stated funding for the scheme has changed since it was first announced. In March 2024 Network Rail said TRU was investing around £100m in the depot, and the DfT said around £100m would be provided to deliver what would be known as the Shipley TrainCare Centre.

By March 2026 Network Rail described the scheme as an investment of over £100m. The October 2026 release says the facility has already received over £160m of funding. None of the releases explains the difference.

The DfT said in March 2024 that the depot funding was part of the government's £3.9bn investment in the Transpennine route upgrade, with £6.9bn committed to the programme in total at that point.

The site

The site's railway history dates to 1846, when it was opened by the Leeds & Bradford Railway Company, according to Network Rail. It was most recently a recycling centre operated by Crossley Evans.

The DfT said in March 2024 that construction was set to begin that year. By March 2026, Network Rail said, contaminated soil from the site's former scrapyard use had been removed, the site cleared and a large retaining wall installed along its western edge.

When Network Rail launched the 2026 TRU Community Fund, worth £270,000, it said organisations within five kilometres of the Shipley depot were also eligible to apply.

The wider programme

Network Rail said 25% of the Transpennine route is now electrified and there are 70 worksites across the 70-mile route. TRU has over 5,000 staff, 85% of them from within 40 miles of the route, and expects to have created over 8,000 jobs across the programme.

In March 2024 Network Rail said TRU had spent £420m, or 66% of its spend to that date, with local businesses.