As part of the multi-billion-pound scheme, there are to be huge railway upgrades between Manchester and Stalybridge.

The overall cost of the upgrade will range between £2.9bn and £3.1bn.

Network Rail will install new trackside columns which will eventually carry train-powering electric wires.

Two bridges in Ashton-under-Lyne – Southampton Street and Granville Street – will also be upgraded by Network Rail and its TRU alliance partners. Raising the height of both bridges will eventually allow electric wires to pass beneath them, making way for a cleaner, greener railway in the future.

The route will cover 122km of track, eight tunnels, 15 viaducts, 25 stations and 270 bridges, which will aim to deliver faster, longer, more frequent, and more reliable services across the North.

Network Rail, Principal Programme Sponsor, Hannah Lomas, said:

“These major upgrades will bring us another step closer to delivering a fully electrified, more modern railway for the future. This work is part of the multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade which will bring passengers more frequent, faster, greener trains.