Potential for new / reopened railway stations in Sheffield

Good evening!

If you're a bit of a rail boff like me (can't help it, I was born into a family where train driving is the trade!), then you'll love this. When you compare Sheffield to other cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester, L*eds, Liverpool, Newcastle etc. one common trait they share which we seem to lack is a significant suburban rail network. Sure we have Meadowhall but other than that we have a grand total of 4 stations outside the city centre which for the third (fourth including London) biggest city in England I think is pretty shabby. Many of us know (some will remember) it wasn't always this way, and our city used to have dozens of stations, especially the old second station in the city centre, Victoria (please god no HS2 discussions in here..!).

I have decided to make this thread to bring together different people's ideas on how we could improve the railways in Sheffield. I'm going to post my own ideas below, but would like to state NOW that this thread does not intend to create any arguments or hate, but is to be a lighthearted collaboration.

So, for my personal ideas. Most of my ideas stem from the understanding that if Darnall and Woodhouse can have a station, there's no reason why these areas can't!

Millhouses

Millhouses at one time did have a station, up until the 1960s when the Beaching Axe fell and it was closed. There was a feasibility study about reopening Millhouses in 97 but it came to nothing, however this year during an election campaign I believe, it was brought up again. Personally i think the area would benefit hugely. First and foremost you have Millhouses Park. More importantly however you have a new way to commute into town for a much wider radius of commuters than Dore & Totley station currently offers, and this will reduce congestion on major road arteries like Abbeydale Road. Construction disruption will be at a minimum since the railway line at the location has a more than big enough empty space to accommodate the new Millhouses from the space left behind by the old one (its was just below the bottom end of Archer Road).

Heeley

Like Millhouses, Heeley too had a station until the late 60s when it bit the dust due to the same reason. The reason for re-opening a Heeley station are largely the same as Millhouses too; releaving congestion on the heavy Chesterfield and London Roads by allowing commuters in Heeley, Meersbrook etc. to take a few minute train journey up the line into town. Construction disruption would again be at a minimum as the floor plan for a Heeley station is all still there from the original one.

Attercliffe Road

This station closed relatively recently in comparison to Heeley and Millhouses, 1995 to be precise. The lower Don Valley within the vicinity of which the station was at the time was quite dilapidated, having suffered from the decline of industry in the 80s. But since then new developments around Savile Street, new business parks, and redevelopments around the canal and Attercliffe in my opinion would certainly render the reopening of the station feasible. Construction work would be at a minumum as the station is still actually there, albeit very overgrown and run down! Clean up volunteering anyone?

Brightside

There was too a Brightside station until 1995, but it closed because it was simply too close to the much more convenient Meadowhall Interchange which had opened 5 years earlier. My proposal is for a new Brightside further down the line, near Upwell Street (near the Post Office depo), to be precise. This would provide an alternative and faster connection for workers in Brightside, Carbrook etc. as well as providing an alternative method of getting to the Arena and Centertainment. You could argue that the Supertram now serves these locations, but on that analogy you could say that meadowhall is served by bus, tram and rail; in my view it only makes it better.

Let me know your thoughts and any of your own proposals, or maybe even if you've heard any rumours or information on potential developments!I appreciate this may have been a bit of a read but I hope you find my ideas interesting and will have plenty of constructive suggestions!

Interesting post for which no doubt you will receive a barrage of negativity !

All great ideas, but never the cash needed to be forthcoming.

End of your ideas

Hope I am eventually wrong

Good evening!

 

If you're a bit of a rail boff like me (can't help it, I was born into a family where train driving is the trade!), then you'll love this. When you compare Sheffield to other cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester, L*eds, Liverpool, Newcastle etc. one common trait they share which we seem to lack is a significant suburban rail network. Sure we have Meadowhall but other than that we have a grand total of 4 stations outside the city centre which for the third (fourth including London) biggest city in England I think is pretty shabby. Many of us know (some will remember) it wasn't always this way, and our city used to have dozens of stations, especially the old second station in the city centre, Victoria (please god no HS2 discussions in here..!).

 

I have decided to make this thread to bring together different people's ideas on how we could improve the railways in Sheffield. I'm going to post my own ideas below, but would like to state NOW that this thread does not intend to create any arguments or hate, but is to be a lighthearted collaboration.

 

So, for my personal ideas. Most of my ideas stem from the understanding that if Darnall and Woodhouse can have a station, there's no reason why these areas can't!

 

Millhouses

Millhouses at one time did have a station, up until the 1960s when the Beaching Axe fell and it was closed. There was a feasibility study about reopening Millhouses in 97 but it came to nothing, however this year during an election campaign I believe, it was brought up again. Personally i think the area would benefit hugely. First and foremost you have Millhouses Park. More importantly however you have a new way to commute into town for a much wider radius of commuters than Dore & Totley station currently offers, and this will reduce congestion on major road arteries like Abbeydale Road. Construction disruption will be at a minimum since the railway line at the location has a more than big enough empty space to accommodate the new Millhouses from the space left behind by the old one (its was just below the bottom end of Archer Road).

 

Heeley

Like Millhouses, Heeley too had a station until the late 60s when it bit the dust due to the same reason. The reason for re-opening a Heeley station are largely the same as Millhouses too; releaving congestion on the heavy Chesterfield and London Roads by allowing commuters in Heeley, Meersbrook etc. to take a few minute train journey up the line into town. Construction disruption would again be at a minimum as the floor plan for a Heeley station is all still there from the original one.

 

Attercliffe Road

This station closed relatively recently in comparison to Heeley and Millhouses, 1995 to be precise. The lower Don Valley within the vicinity of which the station was at the time was quite dilapidated, having suffered from the decline of industry in the 80s. But since then new developments around Savile Street, new business parks, and redevelopments around the canal and Attercliffe in my opinion would certainly render the reopening of the station feasible. Construction work would be at a minumum as the station is still actually there, albeit very overgrown and run down! Clean up volunteering anyone?

 

Brightside

There was too a Brightside station until 1995, but it closed because it was simply too close to the much more convenient Meadowhall Interchange which had opened 5 years earlier. My proposal is for a new Brightside further down the line, near Upwell Street (near the Post Office depo), to be precise. This would provide an alternative and faster connection for workers in Brightside, Carbrook etc. as well as providing an alternative method of getting to the Arena and Centertainment. You could argue that the Supertram now serves these locations, but on that analogy you could say that meadowhall is served by bus, tram and rail; in my view it only makes it better.

 

Let me know your thoughts and any of your own proposals, or maybe even if you've heard any rumours or information on potential developments!I appreciate this may have been a bit of a read but I hope you find my ideas interesting and will have plenty of constructive suggestions!

Great idea would love to see it happen.

Is there a station at wadsley bridge also?

Great idea would love to see it happen.

 

Is there a station at wadsley bridge also?

Yes, on the old Woodhead Route out towards Stocksbridge and eventually Manchester. It closed in the early 70s (I think) but remained open for football specials to Hillsborough until Euro '96 after which they stopped.

Tbh with the overcrowding on the Hope Valley Line, we could indeed do with the reopening of the old Woodhead route to get some express services between here and Manchester.

The Don Valley Railway did or still are pushing to reopen the line from Stocksbridge via Deepcar and Wadsley Bridge into Sheffield, the downside being the reverse at Nunnery to get into Sheffield (Midland) station as Victoria in the big scheme of things is a little out of the way for the City Centre.

As for completely new stations isn't one planned for Waverley (Orgreave) for the AMP and all the housing going up in that area ?

It would make a perfect Park and Ride from the Parkway into the City if planned right and with a regular service.

Nearly every suburban station in Sheffield was uneconomic and closed before Beeching.

Very few now serve significant populated areas.

None offered a regular clockface service.

Arriving at Victoria or Midland necessitated another form of transport to complete the journey.

Cars, buses and trams were always a better option.

Apart from Dore and the Retford route there is no operational possibility or passenger demand to justify improving the routes to provide stopping trains. Route capacity is not just linked to providing more parallel track, its also about crossovers at junctions such as at the north and south ends of the station, Nunnery, Brightside and Dore. Also movement accross from fast to slow lines.

The planned reduction and slowing down of the London trains would be made even worse by adding stopping trains enroute.

The current favourite HS2 route will stop any changes.

Who in their right minds would walk and wait for an irregular, lengthy train service when there is a bus outside which goes to the city centre.

Nearly every suburban station in Sheffield was uneconomic and closed before Beeching.

 

Very few now serve significant populated areas.

 

None offered a regular clockface service.

 

Arriving at Victoria or Midland necessitated another form of transport to complete the journey.

 

Cars, buses and trams were always a better option.

 

Apart from Dore and the Retford route there is no operational possibility or passenger demand to justify improving the routes to provide stopping trains. Route capacity is not just linked to providing more parallel track, its also about crossovers at junctions such as at the north and south ends of the station, Nunnery, Brightside and Dore. Also movement accross from fast to slow lines.

 

The planned reduction and slowing down of the London trains would be made even worse by adding stopping trains enroute.

The current favourite HS2 route will stop any changes.

 

Who in their right minds would walk and wait for an irregular, lengthy train service when there is a bus outside which goes to the city centre.

Very good points raised, I was expecting someone to mention congestion in regards to the current services. However I personally think that with our half hourly services to London, we could easily fit in local stopping services in-between. Plus I have to disagree that cars were ever the better option for Sheffield, it we had a sizeable trunk road system other than the shabby half a ring road and parkway we currently have, then maybe so. Additionally, with four tracks, express trains could easily run down the middle while stopping trains could use the outer platforms (an example of this would be how the Midland main line and the passenger line at Dore is currently separate).

---------- Post added 21-11-2017 at 09:18 ----------

The Don Valley Railway did or still are pushing to reopen the line from Stocksbridge via Deepcar and Wadsley Bridge into Sheffield, the downside being the reverse at Nunnery to get into Sheffield (Midland) station as Victoria in the big scheme of things is a little out of the way for the City Centre.

 

As for completely new stations isn't one planned for Waverley (Orgreave) for the AMP and all the housing going up in that area ?

It would make a perfect Park and Ride from the Parkway into the City if planned right and with a regular service.

Yes I do remember the proposals for the Don Valley Railway which would have seen the stations at Neepsend, Wadsley Bridge, Oughtibridge, Deepcar and Stocksbrige reopen. There is the issue of the reverse to get around the nunnery curve into Midland though, so I think that the best potential for that route would be an extension of the supertram instead (from the depo and parallel to the current rail line).

I'm not sure wether a station at Orgreave would be in between Woodhouse and Darnall or on the other line which runs between Beighton junction and Treaton, then onto rotherham. This line is currently just for freight but I would fully support it being reopened to passengers again because it would allow for Killamarsh, Eckington and Staveley to have stations again for trains which could run from Chesterfield via the 'Old Road' then join up at Beighton and run on to Sheffield.

Very good points raised, I was expecting someone to mention congestion in regards to the current services. However I personally think that with our half hourly services to London, we could easily fit in local stopping services in-between. Plus I have to disagree that cars were ever the better option for Sheffield, it we had a sizeable trunk road system other than the shabby half a ring road and parkway we currently have, then maybe so. Additionally, with four tracks, express trains could easily run down the middle while stopping trains could use the outer platforms (an example of this would be how the Midland main line and the passenger line at Dore is currently separate. ...

What about all the other trains going south. 3X Manchester, 2X Birmingham, 3X Nottingham, Chesterfield stopper?

The tracks between Sheffield station and Dore station junction are already timetabled for up to 22 trains an hour. Many of the trains have to crossover at Dore station junction and again at Sheffield south blocking the other tracks- the section is currently at capacity at critical times of the day. To even provide a worthwhile half hourly service would need another four train movements and dwell time as well as the required two for the extra Manchester service.

And plan for HS2?

I agree cars are not a good option for the city but I meant that it is the choice the user prefers.

...

I'm not sure wether a station at Orgreave would be in between Woodhouse and Darnall or on the other line which runs between Beighton junction and Treaton, then onto rotherham. This line is currently just for freight but I would fully support it being reopened to passengers again because it would allow for Killamarsh, Eckington and Staveley to have stations again for trains which could run from Chesterfield via the 'Old Road' then join up at Beighton and run on to Sheffield.

Sheffield- Nunnery -Beighton- Chesterfield has regular timetabled non stop passenger trains (as does Sheffield- Nunnery- Tinsley -Masborough). The new platform at Chesterfield could be used and stations at Killamarsh, Eckington and Staveley are possible so giving an every 30 minute service at Woodhouse Waverley and Darnall.

Two big problems:

- there is no capacity at Nunnery junction.

- the Government has and is refusing to permit new for new trains on new routes in the Northern TOC franchise area.

The proposed Waverley/Orgreave station site is between Woodhouse and Darnall on the Retford line. The current hourly service is not very attractive, but on completion of HS2 to Leeds new Sheffield ECML to East Anglia and Kings Cross via Retford routes are likely(again), making it a very attractive P and Rs ite

A major drawback to this is that SYPTE appear to have little or no interest in rail unless it is a grand super expensive scheme. As a viable means of providing commuter transport it seems to never get even thought about.

As for sheffield station and approaches, easy, run a line from the existing tram stop down to track level and run trams as far as Dore. The spare land is there and could be used if the will existed to make it happen.

Trouble is. its not a grand enough scheme to attract the attention of SCC and SYPTE.

Other stations are available: Chapeltown, Ecclesfield, Kiveton, Stocksbridge.

One useful source is roads called "Station [Rd/St/etc]". My trusty A-Z shows "Station Road" in S9, S13, S20, S21 (two), S25, S26, S35 (two), and S36.

The Don Valley Railway did or still are pushing to reopen the line from Stocksbridge via Deepcar and Wadsley Bridge into Sheffield, the downside being the reverse at Nunnery to get into Sheffield (Midland) station as Victoria in the big scheme of things is a little out of the way for the City Centre.

 

As for completely new stations isn't one planned for Waverley (Orgreave) for the AMP and all the housing going up in that area ?

It would make a perfect Park and Ride from the Parkway into the City if planned right and with a regular service.

The Waverly station appears on some of the early drawings of the site but its gone quiet amongst all the fuss over the new retail centre. A tram/tram train would make more sense

A major drawback to this is that SYPTE appear to have little or no interest in rail unless it is a grand super expensive scheme. As a viable means of providing commuter transport it seems to never get even thought about.

As for sheffield station and approaches, easy, run a line from the existing tram stop down to track level and run trams as far as Dore. The spare land is there and could be used if the will existed to make it happen.

Trouble is. its not a grand enough scheme to attract the attention of SCC and SYPTE.

That really is nonsense.

The fact is that any type of rail scheme, be it heavy rail or light rail is hideously expensive. None of it is "easy".

Typical cost of tram extensions nowadays is nudging £200 million per line. If you want something on the heavy rail network it will be more, probably significantly more.

SCC are very interested in tram extensions, but getting the money for them is a major problem.