The Anonymous Widower

Rail Minister Marks Completion Of £150m Hope Valley Railway Upgrade

The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.

These first two paragraphs summarise the work.

More reliable journeys are promised on the Hope Valley line between Manchester and Sheffield after a £150 million upgrade was completed in early April.

Over the last three years, the existing platform at Dore & Totley station on the south side of Sheffield has been extended to cope with six-coach trains. Meanwhile the second platform has been rebuilt and commissioned (after it was removed in the 1980s), two mechanical signal boxes have been abolished and a new one-kilometre freight loop laid in the Peak District. At Hathersage, a pedestrian crossing has also been removed and replaced with a footbridge.

These are my thoughts.

Dore And Totley Station

The Rail Magazine article says this about the improvements at Dore and Totley station.

Replacing two tracks through Dore & Totley removes a single-track bottleneck that often saw Sheffield to Manchester express services held up by slower stopping services and cement trains destined for Earles Sidings. A nine-day shutdown of the route in March was needed to finish the work.

The new platform sits between the Midland Main Line and the Hope Valley line, so can only be reached via the new footbridge or lifts. As well as the usual ‘blister paving’ slabs marking the edge of the platform, other tactile paving has been laid to help people with visual impairments find their way around the station.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the new layout of tracks at Dore and Totley station.

Note.

1. The four tracks at the North of the map go to Sheffield station.
2. The Eastern pair of tracks are the Midland Main Line and they go to the South-East corner of the map for Chesterfield and the South.
3. The Western pair of tracks are the Hope Valley Line and they go to the South-West corner of the map for Manchester.
4. The blue lettering in the middle of the map indicates Dore and Totley station.
5. There is a single track curve between the Midland Main Line and the Hope Valley Line, which is mainly used by freight trains.

This secondOpenRailwayMap shows Dore and Totley station in greater detail.

The big improvement is that the Hope Valley Line is now double instead of single track, which must eliminate a lot of delays.

These pictures show the station in July 2020.

The pictures clearly show the single track and platform at Dore and Totley station.

Dore South Curve

Dore South Curve links the Southbound Midland Main Line with the Westbound Hope Valley Line.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the curve.

There is a crossover in the South-West corner of the map, so with careful signalling, trains can use the Dore South Curve in both directions.

Bamford Loop

This is a freight loop between Bamford and Hathersage stations.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the loop.

Note.

1. The Hope Valley Line goes diagonally across the map.
2. Manchester is to the North-West.
3. Sheffield is to the South-East.
4. Bamford station is in the North-West corner of the map.
5. Hathersage station is just off the South-East corner of the map.
6. The loop is on the Northern side of the Hope Valley Line.

The loop will most likely be used by trains going to Sheffield or Chesterfield.

Hathersage Footbridge

This Google Map shows Hathersage station.

Note.

1. Dore Lane and the B 6001 appear to pass under the railway.
2. There appears to be what could be foundations just to the West of the platforms at Hathersage station.
3. From pictures found by Google the bridge appears to be a simple steel structure.

I shall have to go and take pictures.

Fast Trains Between Manchester And Nottingham

In the Wikipedia entry for the Hope Valley Line, this is said.

Nottinghamshire County Council and the Department for Transport have investigated the possibility of adding another service that does not call at Sheffield in order to improve the journey time between Nottingham and Manchester. Stopping (and changing direction) in Sheffield, the fastest journey is 110 minutes (in 2019), but the council has estimated bypassing Sheffield would cut the time to 85 minutes. Suggested improvements on a 2+1⁄2-mile (4 km) stretch near Stockport may reduce journey times by 2–3 minutes.

Consider.

• According to Google, the driving time between the two cities is 128 minutes and the motorway route is via the M1 and M62.
• If nearly half-an-hour could be saved between Manchester and Nottingham could be a big saving in journey time.
• Manchester Piccadilly is likely to be rebuilt for High Speed Two and a fast route via Nottingham could be a viable alternative.
• Both Manchester and Nottingham have good local tram and train networks.
• As the electrification of the Midland Main Line progresses, the route will be increasingly suitable for 100 mph battery-electric trains.

A Manchester and Nottingham express service looks to be an easy service to implement after the Hope Valley Line has been improved.

Hourly Stopping Trains Between Manchester And Sheffield

The Wikipedia entry for the Hope Valley Line gives these details for the stopping service between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield.

• Trains are hourly.
• Trains call at Reddish North, Brinnington, Bredbury, Romiley, Marple, New Mills Central, Chinley, Edale, Hope, Bamford, Hathersage, Grindleford and Dore & Totley.
• But some services do not call at some or all of Edale, Bamford, Hathersage, Grindleford and Dore & Totley giving some 2-hour gaps between services at these stations.

Let’s hope that some of the extra capacity is used to provide a regular service at all stations on the Hope Valley Line.

As in a few years, it will have electrification at both ends, this route could be very suitable for battery-electric trains.

Completion Date

It appears that the first day, when passengers will be able to use the new upgraded tracks and stations will be Thursday, the 2nd of May.

Conclusion

The improvements, certainly seem to allow extra and improved services through on the Hope Valley Line.

I also feel that in a few years, services will be run by battery-electric trains.

 

April 27, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Chesterfield Station, Dore and Totley Station, Electrification, Hope Valley Line, Hope Valley Line Upgrade, Manchester, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Midland Main Line, Network Rail, Nottingham Station, Sheffield Station