The Hope Valley railway line upgrade is a series of upgrades and interventions to improve capacity on Hope Valley line between Manchester and Sheffield which is sometimes called the South Transpennine route. It started in 2021 and is due to finish in 2024.[1] Capacity is seen as constrained on the TransPennine corridor. Reopening the Woodhead line as a possible alternative Pennine crossing was ruled out in the 2010 decade.[2]
The route is seen to have a number of bottlenecks and is also a fairly busy freight route. to allow passenger trains to overtake slower freight trains along the line. The main improvements include: A new platform and accessible footbridge with lifts at Dore & Totley station A railway loop between Bamford and Hathersage A new overbridge at Hathersage West, replacing the current foot crossing to improve safety Signalling improvements along the line to improve reliability Platform extensions to allow for more carriages on services
However the new freight passing loops at Dore and Bamford, plus the redoubling of the tracks through Dore & Totley station, should improve reliability and ensure more trains from the Sheffield direction can arrive into the Manchester area as planned. If delivered.
Is the lack of Platforms 15 and 16 now a constraint on the plan to add another fast service on this route? Is the Hope Valley scheme now being quietly deferred because 15 and 16 are blocked, that extra path another straw on the camel's back?
In the original Manchester Hub planning it was envisaged that the new train would go to Liverpool or Preston. Chester or Blackpool have also been suggested. At one stage it was being suggested that there should be two extra fast trains an hour. They'd never fit in at present.
If the grand plan has now been scuppered by platform 13 and 14 congestion across Manchester, improvements in the reliabilty of the current TP Cleethorpes - Manchester Airport, EM Liverpool - Norwich and Northern Piccadilly - Sheffield services are still essential. TP are operating more 6 car trains. Longer trains seem to be the answer to lack of route capacity for all 3 operators
By completing the Hope Valley scheme Northern's hourly service should be able to call at all stations. At present there are weird gaps as the trains skip along to avoid blocking freight paths - that are often not used. 2 hours 33 minutes out of Sheffield to Dore & Totley in an evening. It's quicker to walk the 4 miles. Many get a bus, taxi or are picked up in Sheffield, but it's possible to go out to Grindleford and come back before the next direct train!
Completing the loops will also allow those freight trains being fed in and out of the national network to follow more closely their planned paths, helping to save delays elsewhere across the nation. The Peak District quarries are increasingly busy as more stone and cement is being used on building projects in the south, exported - and in winter going to coal fired power stations. This means more of the scheduled paths are being taken up.
Empty freight trains go quickly, but the loaded train heading into Totley Tunnel delayed an EM service for 7 minutes before it had cleared the Dore junctions to go south.
Where the line should be redoubled south of Dore station has seen recent work and hopes were raised that this was preparation for that. It seems not as the completed drainage work appears to be just where the old track used to be until lifted in 1985. There's a temperature gauge attached to the track in this picture. A Network Rail employee has been stationed here nearly every day for the last month to ensure the track hasn't buckled in the heat; a speed restriction has been imposed at hottest times.
In 2005 planning applications for various parts of a capacity and Modernisation scheme were submitted.[3] In 2015, a consultation pack on the capacity enhancement of the line was released by Network Rail.[4]
Network Rail, in partnership with South Yorkshire ITA, will redouble the track between Dore Station Junction and Dore West Junction, at an estimated cost of £15 million. This costing is based on four additional vehicles in traffic to deliver the option, however, this will depend on vehicle allocation through the DfT rolling stock plan. This work will be programmed, subject to funding, in conjunction with signalling renewals in the Dore/Totley Tunnel area.[5]
A TWAO was published 13 February 2018. This was to improve the ability for trains to pass between Dore and Bamford.[6]
In 2018, proposals were published for works in order to fit in an all-day (07:00–19:00) hourly Manchester–Sheffield via New Mills Central stopping service, by extending an existing Manchester–New Mills Central service.[7] Planning permission for the upgrade was granted in February 2018, but delays mean that this will now not be completed until 2023.[8] The TWAO was also published in 2018.[9] These changes to allow three fast trains, a stopping train and freight trains each hour were also supported in a Transport for the North investment report in 2019, together with “further interventions” for the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme.[10]
In March 2021, it was announced by Minister of State for Transport, Andrew Stephenson, that £137 million would be used to upgrade the line.[11] The local MP Robert Largan claimed he had campaigned hard for this upgrade.[12] A joint venture between Volker Rail and Story Contracting was awarded an £80 million contract for the delayed Hope Valley upgrade.[13] The work includes creating a 3,600 feet (1,100 m) passing loop between Bamford and Hathersage, and adding a second track and platform at Dore and Totley station.[14] This will allow passenger trains to pass slower-moving freight and allow three fast trains per hour between Manchester and Sheffield.[15] There will also be improvements to the Jaggers Lane Bridge in Hathersage. Work started on 29 May 2022[16] and is expected to be complete by spring 2024.[17]
An eight day blockade occurred in March 2024 to complete the works.[18]
References edit
- ^ "The Hope Valley Railway Upgrade". Network Rail. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
- ^ "Trans-Pennine Woodhead rail tunnels not to reopen". BBC News. 11 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ "05/02599/PNR | Provision of a new platform and footbridge (Application for determination if approval required for design and siting) | Dore & Totley Station Abbeydale Road South Dore Sheffield S17 3LB". planningapps.sheffield.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ "Hope Valley Capacity Scheme consultation pack" (PDF). Network Rail. January 2015.
- ^ "Hope Valley capacity upgrade confirmed". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
- ^ "Hope Valley capacity: Transport and Works Act order". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
- ^ "Yorkshire & Humber RUS Appendix 4 – Options Appraisal" (PDF). Network Rail.
- ^ Jeeves, Paul (3 October 2019). "Fury as vital rail link is delayed by 4 more years". infoweb.newsbank.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ^ "Hope Valley capacity: Transport and Works Act order". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ "Strategic Transport Plan" (PDF). Transport for the North.
- ^ "Mayor welcomes Sheffield to Manchester rail upgrade". BBC News. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "Robert Largan MP welcomes the return of Hope Valley Explorer bus to Peak District". Robert Largan MP. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ "Hope Valley Monthly Newsletter – May 2022". email.unionroom.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ Mitchinson, James, ed. (12 March 2021). "£137m upgrade for Hope Valley Line gets approval". The Yorkshire Post. p. 1. ISSN 0963-1496.
- ^ "Dore and Totley Station to close on Sundays over next few weeks for rail improvement work". www.thestar.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ "Hope Valley upgrade under way". Modern Railways. Key Publishing Ltd.: 29 July 2022. ISSN 0026-8356.
- ^ "Hope Valley upgrade delayed", Modern Railways, 80 (893), Key Publishing: 20, February 2023
- ^ "Passengers reminded to check before they travel as Hope Valley Railway Upgrade nears completion". Network Rail Media Centre. Retrieved 2024-03-13.