What about Woodhead?

Of all the main lines that have closed since Beeching, few are as emotive as the transPennine Woodhead line, which lost its passenger service in January 1970 and closed totally in July 1981.

The line ran from Manchester to Sheffield and Wath via the Woodhead Tunnel, Penistone and (to get to Sheffield) Deepcar. The section from Manchester to Hadfield remains open for passenger trains, while Deepcar to Sheffield remains open to freight.

It was electrified to 1,500V DC, but technology overtook the line and 25kV AC became the industry norm for overhead electrification. The line soon became obsolete, while its elderly, non-standard Class 76s could only work on this line.

The truth was that most freight on the line arrived at Wath behind a diesel, then swapped to a Class 76 or two which ran a mere 35-40 miles to Mottram Yard or Guide Bridge, where another diesel was needed to work forward.

More than 35 years on since the closure of Woodhead, reopening the line makes little economic sense. There is not sufficient freight traffic - and even if there was, once trains got to Hadfield getting paths through Manchester would be very difficult, given the lack of through routes and the congestion on those that do exist. Add in the fact that the Woodhead Tunnel has been used for the National Grid, and it soon becomes a nonstarter.

The only saviour for Woodhead would have been back in the 1980s, if it had been converted to 25kV with suitable additional electrification to link up with the northbound and southbound West Coast Main Line and electrification to Doncaster to join the East Coast Main Line (which was to be electrified). But that chance was missed - it could be argued it was not cost-effective at the time.

So while today such a set-up would have its advantages, especially with the capacity for the line to take container trains, trying to rebuild that infrastructure to do so lacks commercial viability. Some argue a fast, non-stop electric service from Manchester to Sheffield might have been viable, but given that would have landed passengers at Sheffield Victoria, then not so.

In 2017, it’s impossible to make a sound business case for reopening the Woodhead line, given that Sheffield to Manchester can be done in 51 minutes on a Class 185, and that the Pennine routes via Edale, Huddersfield and Hebden Bridge are hardly awash with freight.

Sadly, the Woodhead route’s days are gone. Barring a major modal shift and heaps of investment, it won’t ever reopen. The original three-mile-long Woodhead tunnels are to the left, with the larger bore on the right opened in 1953 to accommodate the overhead electrification of the route between Manchester and Sheffield. It was used for less than 30 years, however, as the line was closed in 1981. The track was lifted in 1986 and all three tunnels are now owned by the National Grid to carry power cables.