The first electric trains have successfully completed test runs along the recently electrified section of railway between York and Church Fenton.

The work, as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), follows the completion of upgrade work between Church Fenton and Colton Junction.

At Colton Junction, trains from Leeds join the East Coast Main Line towards York. In July, the newly installed overhead line equipment was energised for the first time.

This is one of the busiest stretches of railway in the north, with over 100 trains passing through each day.

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Rail operators say this is another step towards a cleaner, greener, fully electrified railway between York, Leeds and Manchester.

Faster and more regular train services are also promised with the fastest trains taking 63-66 minutes when the project is complete, compared to 78 to 100 minutes today.

Adam Sellers, Senior Sponsor at TRU said: “The test trains successfully demonstrated that the new overhead equipment is operating as it should, ahead of the introduction of electric services in the future.

“People can see that TRU is very much in the delivery phase now and the benefits of all our teams’ hard work over the last three years is starting to show.”

The overhead line equipment (OLE), which carries 25,000 volts, will allow more environmentally friendly electric and bi-mode trains to run at speeds of up to 125mph - 30mph faster than they currently run.

Chris Nutton, Major Projects & TRU Director at TransPennine Express, said: "It's very exciting to see the electrification of the Transpennine main line come one step closer with this new major milestone, and a big step in bringing cleaner, faster, and better rail journeys to the North of England.”

The tests were undertaken using a TransPennine Express (TPE) Class 802 bi-mode train, which was operated by the Rail Operations Group, who were supporting TPE and the TRU East Alliance team to deliver these key tests in the early hours of the morning.

Jonathan Gavin-Jones, Business Development Manager at Rail Operations Group, said: “The TRU programme is one of the most exciting and ambitious infrastructure projects on the UK rail network.

“Rail Operations Group was proud to support TransPennine Express and the TRU East Alliance team to deliver these key tests.”

This is the second section of the route to be electrified as part of TRU, after the successful roll-out of electric services between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge this summer.

In addition to saving carbon emissions, the upgrade will deliver quieter trains and better air quality.

Over the last three years, engineers installed 350 piled foundations to support the new overhead equipment (OLE).

TRU ensured the construction of these upgrades was delivered sustainably, with the new equipment being assembled locally at the nearby Joseph Lynn Logistics Hub in Sherburn-in-Elmet and transported to site by train.