Ahead of a crucial year for the Transpennine Route Upgrade, Pete Sollitt has been appointed Managing Director of TRU West Alliance.
The Transpennine Route Upgrade is a multi-billion-pound programme that aims to bring cleaner, faster, and more reliable trains to the North of England, transforming rail travel in the region.
Pete’s appointment comes at a crucial time for TRU. Following the Department Transport’s recent announcement of a £3.9bn funding boost for the programme, it is expected that 2024 will see significant progress made on a range of projects between Manchester, Leeds and beyond.
Once the core benefits of the programme have been achieved, the 70 miles of railway between Manchester and York will be electrified, a new fully digital signalling system will be in place and key areas of the line will be double tracked, enabling more frequent, faster and greener trains to stop at improved, accessible stations along the route.
The Transpennine Route Upgrade follows an enterprise business model – led by TRU Managing Director Neil Holm – in a structure that consists of individual projects that are delivered via Alliances both East and West of Leeds. Pete will now oversee operations in the west.
Pete said: “I’m really excited to be joining at such a pivotal moment for the West Alliance. I recognise this is a complex, fast-moving programme with many facets.
“A key priority of mine at this early stage is to ensure that every single person working on the Alliance is safe and well. We all need to play our part in supporting a vigilant culture that protects ourselves and our colleagues.”
Pete added: “In terms of the delivery of the programme, we need to maintain and enhance our performance so that excellence becomes a habit.
“Looking at what the Alliance has achieved so far, I’m certain that we have the capability, expertise and experience required to achieve that.
“We now have the opportunity to all pull together as one team and take it to the next level – I’m looking forward to the journey ahead and the role the West Alliance will play as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.”
Pete joins the TRU West Alliance with a wealth of major infrastructure projects expertise after over 10 years of leading roles, most recently with the HS2 programme, where he was the Phase 2A Delivery Director.
His time within the rail industry is preceded by over two decades of senior leadership positions within the British Army, with multiple deployments in the Middle East, Balkans and West Africa.
