£137m cash injection to upgrade Hope Valley Line

Some £137 million has been pledged towards upgrading the Hope Valley Line between Sheffield and Manchester.

Network Rail is finalising detailed designs for the scheme, which involves building a second line at Dore Station Junction and extending the track between West View Lane (near Dore) and Dore South Junction, as well as building a second platform at Dore station. Improvements to Standedge on the Heeley loop are also planned.

A 1km (0.62 mile) passing loop will be built east of Bamford station, enabling faster passenger trains to overtake slower freight.

Work is expected to begin next year and should be complete in 2023.

Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis welcomed the news, but warned there needs to be much more investment to level up the North.

“For too long people in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester have been forced to endure endless delays, cancelled and unreliable services,” he said.

“The upgrade to this line, which connects 4.2 million people between Sheffield and Greater Manchester, will reduce these delays, improve reliability of trains and add a third direct train per hour.”

Rail Minister Chris Heaton

Harris said: “We are committed to levelling up infrastructure across the North. These important upgrades will make a huge difference to passengers, providing the punctual, reliable services they deserve, as we build back better from COVID-19.”

NR has already completed signalling design work at the same time as the tendering process and liaising with train and freight operators to agree changes to the timetable that may be needed.

The infrastructure company will continue to look to speed up the project, the Government said.

Planning for a third fast service per hour on the route is being considered as part of work being carried out by the Manchester Recovery Taskforce, which is looking at options to improve performance in and around the city.