A new trans-Pennine Express
Could HS2 link boost Sheffield-Manchester services?
are active plans for Leeds to Sheffield and the South via HS2, and for Leeds to Manchester via Northern Powerhouse Rail. Meanwhile, plans for Sheffield to Manchester services rely on improving the Hope Valley line. There has been speculation in the national media that the Leeds to Birmingham part of HS2 may not be built. Perhaps it is time to present an alternative strategy?
HS2 is proposing a new line from Birmingham to Leeds passing east of Sheffield, with a link from the HS2 main line to a point near Clay Cross at the northern end of the Erewash line, then using the existing railway to Sheffield. Trains would then continue over the existing railway to rejoin HS2 at Thurnscoe, on the way to Leeds.
Transport for the North (TfN) is proposing Northern Powerhouse Rail, of which the most significant and expensive part is a new line from Manchester to Leeds via Bradford, which will involve extensive and expensive tunnelling between Manchester and Bradford.
TfN has a target of a journey time of 30 minutes between Manchester and Sheffield. The current best time is 49 minutes. I feel that 45 minutes is achievable, and maybe 42 if grade separation was provided at Edgeley Junction, which would not be easy.
It proposes that the main line from Manchester to Sheffield remains the Hope Valley. This route has three of the longest tunnels in the country, as well as many sharp curves which cannot be straightened. It joins the London main line at Edgeley Junction south of Stockport, which is a flat junction with very tight curves. The route from there to Manchester is very congested and the cause of many delays. The alternative route from New Mills to Manchester via Romiley is no faster, and also congested.
The Hope Valley line has considerable local traffic justifying at least an hourly service. In addition, there is considerable freight traffic from cement works and quarries on the line.
The current Manchester to Sheffield service along the Hope Valley line is slow, often late and seriously overcrowded, with two fast trains per hour. As a result, there is suppressed demand for this service. Due to the overcrowding, on-train ticket checking is very limited, and because Sheffield is an open station there are more passengers on this line than shows up in the official data.
There is also considerable travel to Manchester from Dore & Totley, just outside Sheffield. Dore & Totley is an unstaffed station with an unreliable ticket machine, so travel from there is also under-recorded.
Longer trains are planned for this line, which is appropriate. But the plan by TransPennine Express to use paired Class 185s without corridor connections means that ticket inspection will remain poor, and problems will continue at intermediate stations such as Dore & Totley which cannot accommodate six-car trains. They will not offer faster journeys.
The HS2 spur to Clay Cross, and the electrification and upgrade from there to and including Sheffield station, is being carried out by HS2, although it would appear that there is a very limited budget for this work. The works to Bradway Tunnel and the replacement of the main footbridge at Sheffield station, which is too low for electrification, will both eat into this restricted budget.
The line from Sheffield to rejoin the HS2 main line at Thurnscoe is an existing line which is to be upgraded and electrified to take HS2 services. This work is not being carried out by HS2, but by TfN. The junction at Thurnscoe is the responsibility of HS2. Further south, the route of HS2 serves a new station at Toton which has poor links to Derby and Nottingham.
It appears clear from discussions that Transport for the North was told that the HS2 route was a given, and that it was not up for discussion. As a result, it has come up with a proposal which makes a little sense if you accept its criteria, but no sense at all as a whole.
My main concern is that these expensive proposals will do nothing to improve the service between Manchester and Sheffield - two of Britain’s major cities which deserve a fast and frequent service. They will provide fast services from Leeds to Sheffield and to Manchester, but not Sheffield to Manchester.
The Woodhead line used to provide the main service from Manchester to Sheffield, but was closed in the 1970s. From Manchester to Guide Bridge there is space for four tracks, and from Guide Bridge to Hadfield the line is still open. From Hadfield to Penistone through the Woodhead Tunnel, the track bed is still in place. From Penistone to Deepcar the trackbed is in place, and from Deepcar to Sheffield the line is open for freight.
My proposal is for the HS2 route between Leeds and Staveley (near Chesterfield) to instead be diverted west of the current alignment and west of Barnsley. This should incur no additional cost, as the new line is of similar length to the current HS2 proposal.
I propose a junction with a reopened Woodhead Tunnel route near Penistone, with would then give high-speed routes between Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester. There would, as currently proposed, be a loop through Sheffield Midland station. Having discussed this idea with members of staff and (briefly) Board Members from TfN, the main arguments against that have been put to me are:
It does not serve Sheffield Midland station. Answer: build HS2 round Sheffield with a link from the existing line out of Sheffield Midland station. This should cost no more than the current proposals.
The Woodhead Tunnel would need reboring with twin tunnels. Answer: no problem - it will still be cheaper than the current proposals.
There are high-voltage cables running through Woodhead tunnel. Answer: there are three tunnels at Woodhead - put the cables in one of the other two.
There are potential conflicts at Manchester Piccadilly station throat. This particularly refers to Leeds to Liverpool services, which with the current layout would have to cross the main station throat. Answer: probably the best way is to put in a flyover or dive-under to carry the Woodhead tracks over or under the main line between Ardwick and Piccadilly.
Passenger numbers are low from Manchester to Sheffield. Answer: of course they are - the trains are so overcrowded that people avoid them. Also, the level of use is under-recorded.
The Hope Valley can be improved. Answer: great - but you still need a high-speed line.
The rumours about the eastern leg of HS2 not being progressed do make sense, and show that urgent rethinking is required to get highspeed rail to Yorkshire from London, while also giving a well thought-out line across the Pennines. I suggest that the Woodhead solution requires urgent investigation by HS2 and Transport for the North.
Mike Rose is a Chartered Engineer and former Partnership Officer of the High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership. He is also a committee member of Railfuture Yorkshire.
“Urgent rethinking is required to get high-speed rail to Yorkshire from London.”