An EMR LIverpool - Norwich service passes through Dore
We’ve been waiting a long time for improvements to the rail service between Sheffield and Manchester, the UK’s 9th and 2nd largest cities respectively by population. (Sheffield is the 5th largest by area but we are lucky to have a lot of National Park within the borders) As well as travellers between the two cities, the route carries passengers from as far afield as Norwich and Cleethorpes to Liverpool. Pre-pandemic, the railway even with it’s constrictions carried roughly half the number of people crossing the South Pennines
Shortsightedly, British Rail singled the track at Dore when they were facing cutbacks under the Thatcher government. Following privatisation and new trains, passenger numbers have soared and conditions on the route have become increasingly uncomfortable, with crowded trains the norm. More recently, things have got worse with Trans-Pennine Express cancelling more trains than they run and the Hope Valley stopping service, itself very popular with people visiting the Peak District, has been taking the brunt of this.
Improvements on the route have been on the cards for some time, but repeatedly delayed by parsimonious Transport Ministers, while such projects as the 20bn Elizabeth Line in London have gone ahead (The improvements that are being made would be small change for that kind of project) . Finally, we started to see action with a passing loop being installed at Bamford. This will allow freight trains to wait to allow the expresses to pass through.
February 2022 - Nestling in the Peak District, the engineering works are hardly noticeable)
February 2022 - But a bit more noticeable when you get up close
Meanwhile, we’ve had to wait a bit longer for work to start at Dore. With double track, a new platform will be needed for stopping trains - as well as the Hope Valley stoppers, some expresses stop here so the station has become increasingly popular. A park and ride site was installed some years back and with free parking, unsurprisingly people choose to come here and avoid the congestion and swingeing car parking charges on the City Centre.
Back in Sheffield, come 2023, however, we started to see equipment arriving trackside. Now in April, things are really happening.
When this work is complete, this sight of a train waiting at the single-track section while another train comes through will be a thing of the past!
Post-pandemic, the extra capacity may well end up being used in different ways than was envisaged when the work was being planned. Commuter traffic is down while leisure travel is up. We might see more trains stopping in the Hope Valley (we badly need to reduce the amount of car traffic coming into the Park) and more freight trains using the route. Certainly a regular hourly stopping service is on the cards (despite improvements there are still gaps in the schedule at the moment) and we could see three express trains per hour. Electrification must come soon - de-carbonising the railway should be a priority.
An interesting article. It would be good to have an update on how it is going.