The UK government announced on 11 September 2026 an around £1 billion investment in 29 battery-electric TransPennine Express trains, planned to be built at Derby's Litchurch Lane Works. The Department for Transport said the deal would support more than 350 jobs in Derby, plus 40 apprentices and 40 students, and a further 6,000 jobs across the UK supply chain, generating around £360 million for the wider economy.

The government said the fleet, described as the first of their kind on a UK main line route, would provide emission-free travel on non-electrified sections and cut journey times by up to 10 minutes between Manchester and Leeds and up to 14 minutes between Manchester and York. It said the trains were due to be built from 2028 and enter service from winter 2034, supporting the Transpennine Route Upgrade's stated ambition to boost capacity by 30% by the early to mid-2030s.

Alstom's Rob Whyte called the agreement a landmark moment, and TransPennine Express managing director Chris Jackson described it as transformative. Rock Rail is to buy the trains and lease them to TransPennine Express. The planned routes include Liverpool Lime Street to Scarborough, Manchester Airport to Saltburn and Manchester Piccadilly to Hull.