£150m Hope Valley railway upgrade between Manchester and Sheffield now complete

The government’s Rail Minister, Huw Merriman, opened the new and accessible platform at the station which has been extended to accommodate six-carriage trains. This is the first time the station has had two platforms since the 1980s.

Rail Minister Huw Merriman said: “I am delighted to mark the completion of the Hope Valley Railway Upgrade – another project delivered which demonstrates our continued commitment to improving transport in the North of England.

“This Government funded scheme means passengers will now benefit from improved reliability and accessibility when travelling between Sheffield and Manchester. The upgrade is just one of hundreds we’re delivering, with more to come as part of our Network North plan made possible by reallocated HS2 funding – carrying out even further upgrades on this vital line, including electrification, to cut journey times and improve capacity for thousands of passengers.”

Work started in 2021 and since then key improvements of the Hope Valley Railway Upgrade have been made. These include part of the upgrade which has seen signalling improvements along the line to improve reliability and a new overbridge at Hathersage West, as well as replacing the current foot crossing to improve safety.

A 1km railway loop has also been installed between Bamford and Hathersage, allowing faster services to overtake slower trains, relieving a bottleneck. Additional track has also been installed to the South of Dore & Totley station to relieve a longstanding freight train bottleneck.

Neil Holm, Managing Director of Transpennine Route Upgrade said: “The completion of the Hope Valley Railway Upgrade is a great step for train travel in the North. After three years of hard work and planning, passengers between Manchester and Sheffield can enjoy a much-improved railway.”

Ben Shaw, Sponsor for the Hope Valley Railway Upgrade added: “The Hope Valley Railway Upgrade team worked tirelessly to deliver these upgrades. I’d like to thank all of our passengers and residents along the route for their patience and support as we carried out these essential upgrades.”