A railway-loving father and son from Denver, Colorado, have completed a transatlantic trip to West Yorkshire to see one of the UK’s biggest rail infrastructure projects up close.
Daniel Shurz and his son Noah were the lucky winners of a charity raffle held by the Railway Benefit Fund (RBF), securing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour key sites along the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) – the multi-billion-pound programme modernising the railway between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.
Their journey began at Huddersfield station, where they met the station manager and learned more about the transformational work taking place. A highlight was meeting Bolt the Cat, the station’s popular feline mascot, before heading to TRU’s HD1 operational hub for a safety briefing and high-vis gear.
The next stop was Ravensthorpe, home to one of the UK’s largest civil engineering works. Here, Daniel and Noah saw progress on the new viaduct and grade-separated junction designed to improve capacity and reliability on this critical route.
Following a break and lunch with the TRU team, the pair continued to Hillhouse Sidings, a new facility being constructed in Huddersfield to maintain, clean and store both passenger and engineering trains. They also saw the newly installed overhead electric wires—part of TRU’s push to deliver a fully electrified, digital railway.
As a memento of the day, Daniel and Noah received TRU-branded souvenirs before continuing their UK visit.
Reflecting on the experience, Daniel said:
“We’ve always loved trains and everything about them, so it’s fantastic to be able to come and see the great progress being made. We wish Team TRU the best of luck with the upgrades and can’t wait to see how the project has further progressed when we’re next in the UK.”
Paul Sumner, Senior Sponsor for TRU, added:
“We were delighted to welcome Daniel and Noah on this special tour and are proud to have shared our progress with them. They’ve definitely set the record for the furthest-travelled visitors! It was a real pleasure to show them our vision for a faster, greener and more reliable railway.”
The trip was made possible through a charity raffle supporting the Railway Benefit Fund, which offers essential support to UK rail workers and their families in times of need, including financial assistance and mental health resources.
About the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU)
The TRU programme is delivering a 70-mile, fully electrified and digitally signalled railway between Manchester and York. The scheme will provide:
- Up to six fast trains per hour between Leeds and Manchester
- Journey times as short as 41 minutes between Manchester and Leeds, and 63 minutes between Manchester and York
- Doubling of track capacity between Huddersfield and Westtown in Dewsbury
- New and improved station facilities
- A significant boost in freight capacity – enabling up to 15 additional daily freight trains
- Up to 87,000 tonnes of CO₂ savings per year through reduced diesel use
- A 10% biodiversity net gain through environmental improvements along the route
The programme currently supports around 5,000 jobs, with expectations to increase this to 8,000 as work continues. Over 350 apprentices are already working on the project.
