Transpennine rail fund has up to 54 grants, cuts zone to 5km from 5 miles
The Transpennine Route Upgrade Community Fund has opened a third round worth £270,000, up from £250,000 in 2025, with standard £5,000 grants and a tighter eligibility zone.
The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is the multi-billion-pound programme upgrading the 70-mile main line between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York. It created the fund in 2024 to give something back to communities near its works.
Applications opened on 28 September and are scheduled to close on 9 October, but TRU warns the window could shut sooner if it receives a large number of bids. The giving platform Neighbourly administers the money for TRU. Organisations need a free Neighbourly account before they can apply.
How the grants work this year
Every successful bid receives a standard grant of £5,000, and applicants can ask for a further £5,000, taking the award to £10,000. The TRU Community Fund 2026 FAQs say the extra sum depends on whether it would pay for an extended phase or let a project be finished in full. Faster delivery, wider impact or more beneficiaries count in its favour. The pot covers up to 54 grants, depending on how many applications arrive and what they request.
This replaces the four grant sizes of £1,000, £5,000, £10,000 and £20,000 that were offered when the second round launched in 2025. The FAQs say demand for the smallest grants was historically low, while the largest ones needed more vetting. In that second round, 35 organisations shared £250,000.
The money must go on creating or improving indoor or outdoor community facilities. It can pay for design and construction labour, equipment, furnishing and materials. It cannot cover running costs such as salaries, utilities, rent or marketing. A grant may also fund only part of a project alongside other sources.
A 5km zone instead of five miles
Both the applicant and its project must sit within 5km of the Transpennine route or of the Shipley Traincare Centre, a TRU worksite. Charities, community interest companies, community groups and centres, schools, and not-for-profit nurseries and family centres can apply. An interactive map on the fund page lets them check an address.
The radius is tighter than in earlier rounds. The 2025 round accepted organisations within five miles, roughly 8km, of the route or the Shipley site, and the first round in 2024 covered five miles of the core route plus its main diversion routes. TRU’s published documents do not explain the change.
| Detail | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total pot | £175,000 | £250,000 | £270,000 |
| Grant sizes | Small grants of £1,000 to £5,000 and medium grants of £5,000 to £20,000 | £1,000, £5,000, £10,000 or £20,000 | £5,000, with an optional £5,000 uplift to £10,000 |
| Eligibility zone | 5 miles of the core route and its main diversion routes | 5 miles of the route or the Shipley Traincare Centre | 5km of the route or the Shipley Traincare Centre |
| Run by | GMCVO | Neighbourly | Neighbourly |
| Application window | Opened 5 August for small grants and 19 August for medium grants; closing dates not given in the launch release | 6 to 27 October | 28 September to 9 October, may close early |
| Outcome | £175,000 offered to 28 organisations from 279 applications | £250,000 shared by 35 organisations | Up to 54 grants available |
The pot has grown in each round, while the 2026 round moves to a single grant size with an uplift and a smaller radius. Network Rail’s results for 2024 and 2025 add up to £425,000 for 63 organisations, while TRU’s 2026 FAQs give £405,000 for 62 projects without explaining the gap. Five miles is about 8km (Railway Supply conversion). Sources: Network Rail, 2024 launch, 2024 results, 2025 launch and 2025 results; TRU, TRU Community Fund 2026 FAQs.
Assessors will also give extra weight to projects in 13 areas that TRU lists as most affected by its construction work. Each area is a 1km circle around a named postcode, and the list includes Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Shipley and Stalybridge.
| Area | Postcode at the centre of the 1km zone |
|---|---|
| Cross Gates | LS15 8BZ |
| Garforth | LS25 1PW |
| Micklefield | LS25 4EE |
| Church Fenton | LS24 9GZ |
| Shipley | BD18 2BH |
| Batley | WF17 5TA |
| Dewsbury | WF13 1HF |
| Ravensthorpe | WF12 9EQ |
| Heaton Lodge | HD5 0RF |
| Deighton | HD2 1LX |
| Huddersfield | HD1 5BB |
| Mossley | OL5 9AN |
| Stalybridge | SK15 3BN |
TRU lists 13 areas most affected by its construction work, each covering a 1km radius around one postcode. Projects there get additional weight in assessment, but they must still meet the 5km rule. Source: TRU, TRU Community Fund 2026 FAQs.
Projects must support skills, education or jobs, for example by tackling youth unemployment or helping people outside education, employment or training. They must also benefit deprived communities or under-represented or marginalised groups. Application questions on jobs and community support carry more weight than those on the environment.
Decisions due in November
Neighbourly will score the bids, and an awards panel will pick the winners. Neighbourly expects to tell applicants by the first week of November whether they are provisionally successful. Payments should follow between late November and mid-January. Both dates may shift with the volume and quality of applications.
Earlier recipients can apply again. Network Rail announced £175,000 in grants for 28 organisations after the first round in 2024 and £250,000 for 35 in 2025, which adds up to £425,000. TRU’s 2026 FAQs give a lower total of £405,000 for 62 projects and do not explain the difference. The first round was run by GMCVO, an organisation supporting the voluntary and community sector.
Anna Humphries, TRU’s head of sustainability and social value, said the programme wants local communities to benefit from its investment “while the programme is being delivered, not just when the railway is complete.”
A fourth round is being prepared for 2027. TRU reviews the fund after each annual round, so its rules may change again. Questions about applications go to Neighbourly at community@neighbourly.com.
