TransPennine Express has ordered 29 battery-electric trains worth about €930 million, with charging points to be built at Hull, Scarborough and Saltburn. The fleet arrives from 2032.
Alstom signed the contracts on 11 September. Together they are worth more than €1.2 billion. The rolling stock order accounts for roughly €930 million and the maintenance agreements for about €230 million.
The trains are five-car battery-electric multiple units. They will run on routes covered by the Transpennine Route Upgrade. Because parts of that corridor remain unelectrified, batteries let the operator drop diesel without waiting for overhead wires.
How the batteries will be charged
Alstom will install charging infrastructure at Hull, Scarborough and Saltburn. On Britain’s mainline network that is a first. The company has already done something similar in Ireland.
Each train is 121 metres long and runs at up to 110mph. Seating is around 300 per unit, including a First Class area with catering. Level boarding at every door is the other design feature, which also cuts station dwell times.
Because the platform allows unassisted boarding at 85 per cent of existing UK station platforms, less money goes on raising platform heights. Three wheelchair spaces, two accessible toilets and cycle storage come as standard. Alstom spent £35 million and three years developing the Adessia design for British conditions.
Derby gets the work
Design, engineering, build and testing all happen at Derby Litchurch Lane Works. It is the only end-to-end train factory in the UK. Manufacturing starts in 2028.
The order supports more than 350 skilled jobs in Derby and over 5,500 roles across Alstom’s UK supply chain. Spending with British suppliers should reach at least £360 million. Maintenance will support more than 100 further roles under an eight-year contract, with an option to extend by another eight years.
Rob Whyte, Managing Director UK at Alstom, said: “This agreement is a landmark moment for Britain’s railway, and we couldn’t be prouder that the country’s first mainline battery-electric trains will be designed and built in Britain.” He added that the project would also train at least 36 apprentices and 36 T Level students.
First new trains for Great British Railways
These are the first new-build trains ordered for Great British Railways. Rock Rail is funding them. They will replace part of the existing Class 185 diesel fleet on services linking Liverpool, Manchester, York, Hull, Scarborough and Saltburn.
Chris Jackson, Managing Director at TransPennine Express, said: “This is a transformational £1.2 billion investment in the future of rail travel across the North, delivering new trains for our customers as well as new infrastructure, new jobs and long-term economic benefits.”
Heidi Alexander, Transport Secretary, said passengers could “wave goodbye to overcrowded, delayed diesel trains”. Alstom has run battery trains commercially in Germany since February 2026 and in France since July 2026. Britain’s unelectrified mainline miles are the harder test.
