MAJOR plans to transform South Yorkshire’s ‘creaking railway infrastructure’ – including upgrading the Penistone Line and introducing new services from Barnsley to London – have been officially unveiled.
Lord David Blunkett’s review of rail connectivity has identified how constrained and creaking Victorian-era infrastructure is holding the region back, with train services regularly failing to meet the needs of both passengers and businesses due to poor performance and an overall lack of reliability.
The new £14bn long-term plan for the network would deliver a boost for jobs and growth – and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has called on the government to ‘finally deliver’ on repeated promised to back transport in the north.
He said: “Mr Blunkett has, for the first time, made clear the problems created by decades of under investment across the whole of Yorkshire and given us a plan for fixing them, working together across the whole of God’s Own County.
“This is the White Rose Agreement in action.
“The plan we are launching today would address the fundamental issues we face as a region.”
The proposals include increasing the frequency on the Penistone Line.
The route, which starts at Barnsley Interchange and makes its way through Dodworth, Silkstone Common and Penistone stations on its way to Huddersfield, is already set to benefit from a raft of work.
Labour – in its budget – confirmed the previous Conservative-led government had pledged to upgrade the line but did not properly cost the policy, so it has been included in the Levelling Up Fund.
The line currently faces capacity constraints and reliability issues due to its single-track sections.
Currently, only one train per hour runs and the average journey time is about an hour and 15 minutes from end to end – and the new proposals are set to boost this.
Also included in the plan are new services between Barnsley and London.
Mayor Coppard added: “Here in South Yorkshire we need more trains, investment in our stations, and better connections to Leeds, York, Manchester, London and elsewhere.
“Ultimately, we simply want reliable, effective rail services, so we can get to work, see friends and family or just go for a night out.
“Through this plan, there is a pathway with a phased approach to fix our broken rail system.
“I want to see Sheffield fully electrified, a new station at Rotherham, more capacity at Doncaster and new services between Barnsley and London.”
The move has been welcomed by Penistone MP Marie Tidball.
She told the Chronicle: “These investments seek to upgrade transport links to improve regional connectivity, delivering transport infrastructure that puts passengers at the heart of rail services and delivers economic growth to the region.
“The Conservative government made numerous empty promises to upgrade, but hadn’t allocated any actual money so the project could go ahead.
“This Labour government knows the difference that good local transport routes makes to opportunities for our constituency.”