Written evidence submitted by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (IRP0088)

 

Appended to this letter is a detailed response to your Committee’s Inquiry into the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan (IRP). As Mayor of South Yorkshire and a Board Member of Transport for the North I am pleased to present a response that I hope the Committee will consider in detail.

 

The submission is written from a position of singular frustration and disappointment across South Yorkshire and the wider North of England in the plans that the Integrated Rail Plan sets out for rail investment – a frustration which is shared by my private sector business representatives on the South Yorkshire LEP, one of whom also sits with me on the Transport for the North Board. There is no doubt that £96bn of investment will make a significant difference to the rail network and the services that our communities and businesses rely upon. But £42.5bn of it is to complete committed HS2 projects to Birmingham and Crewe.

 

Only £53.5bn is new money for projects in the Midlands and North

 

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Transport for the North have worked tirelessly and at great cost to support the development of the IRP. We were asked to. And in good faith we engaged.

 

We did so because we all agree that this country needs an Integrated Rail Plan, it needs vision, a long-term commitment to investing in our creaking Victorian era infrastructure and it needs to have at its heart a mission to unlock economic growth, support the transition to Net Zero, to connect businesses and communities to opportunities and to make the Northern economy more than the sum of its parts.

 

The IRP had the chance to do this. It was what we were promised.

 

And it fails to do so. It does not unlock the latent economic potential of this country, it doesn’t reduce transport poverty across the North, it doesn’t build the capacity that enables us to take cars and freight off the road and it undermines the confidence of our business community to invest.

 

Our submission reflects the structure and key lines of enquiry set out in your call for evidence. It is a detailed response that presents particular issues for South Yorkshire where the plan fails to deliver, where easy and obvious wins could have been found, where projects with strong business cases have been ignored and where there are illogical and counter intuitive proposals within the Plan.

 

In short:

-                                                      The Plan was late. Somehow, despite it taking over a year to produce the results appeared to be a cobbled together package of projects. As we make clear in our detailed submission the IRP appears to ignore a huge amount of forensically detailed submissions to the National Infrastructure Commission that were produced at great cost and effort and submitted on time and as requested.

-                                                      The Integrated Rail Plan does not quantify the benefits of its proposals and the technical evidence underpinning the decisions made therein continues to be unavailable for review. Transport Minister Baroness Vere has conceded that the Government does not yet know how its flagship £96bn IRP will actually work on the ground. An astonishing admission during the House of Lords debate on 16th December 2021. The Plan appears to have moved away from an approach focused on how to “level up” communities across the North to one where decisions on the future of UK infrastructure are based simply on affordability and benefit cost ratios. The version of NPR as presented in the Integrated Rail Plan favours investment in the most productive parts of the North. This runs counter to the stated ambition of Government to “level up” areas and risks a second east-west divide in prosperity and productivity. Where there was a chance to show how major rail investment might deliver benefits to those communities in areas of high transport poverty the IRP singularly failed. Our submissions to the IRP process, and a key part of the NPR programme, include the building of two new stations where the business case demonstrates singular value for money. These schemes appear to merit no mention in the IRP.

-                                                      By taking HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail as separate workstreams and projects the IRP fundamentally missed the point of the word ‘integrated’. The schemes are simply not divisible. One fundamentally enables the delivery of the benefits of the other. By cancelling the building of a HS2 Eastern Leg the Plan, the IRP fundamentally fails the East of the country. Without new rail lines we cannot free up existing routes to improve local commuter services; with no new capacity we undermine local, regional and national economic growth as well as limiting our ability to take cars and freight off the road.

-                                                      The Plan dresses up as new schemes a host of existing schemes that should have been funded years ago, including improvements to the main rail link between Sheffield and Manchester and the electrification of the Midland Mainline Route that connects London, the East Midlands and Sheffield.

-                                                      Our submission shows where the Plan misses both obvious wins - for example carrying on the electrification of the Midland Mainline Line route through South Yorkshire - mitigating some of the weaknesses of the Plan but also some astonishingly illogical and counter intuitive proposals.

-                                                      The IRP failed to end the blight and uncertainty for people and businesses on the HS2 eastern leg through South Yorkshire, as the route remains safeguarded until the further study is completed. The time for studies is over – we’ve had plenty of those – we need a final decision one way or the other.

 

The failings of the Plan are evident. They are the inevitable consequence of a system of planning rail investment at the national level and where, in the final reckoning the voice of the North of England was ignored. Right across the North the evidence is clear; the key issue is the need to increase capacity – to improve resilience and to support economic growth. The North’s Victorian legacy of a predominantly two-track railway – one that has to accommodate the competing and differing needs of long-distance, regional, local and freight services. In such circumstances attempts to increase the speed of some services in isolation of investment in additional capacity will result in perverse outcomes: less resilient infrastructure and less reliable services, less overall capacity. It is through having a deep and meaningful understanding of its rail network and how it operates that Transport for the North concluded that investing in additional capacity has to be at the heart of the investment programme required to unlock the North’s economic potential.

 

I would welcome the opportunity to furnish the Committee with more information on specific points and to address the Committee in any Oral hearings you are planning.

South Yorkshire MCA IRP Submission to Transport Select Committee

 

Introduction to South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority

 

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) is a formal partnership of councils that shapes strategy and policy. Formed in 2014, the constituent members of the SYMCA are Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster Councils.

 

In May 2018, Dan Jarvis MP was elected as Mayor of the South Yorkshire and became Chair of the SYMCA, which works at a regional level to invest in delivering business growth, skills and economic development related projects, in addition to transport, housing, climate change, and the Mayor’s wider policy agenda, alongside the South Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership which forms an integral part of the MCA.

 

Reason(s) for Submitting Evidence

 

Like many of the UK’s city regions, South Yorkshire has the potential to significantly increase its economic productivity towards the levels seen in European counterparts. However, despite faster than expected economic growth in the last decade, South Yorkshire still falls below national and regional averages in terms of economic performance.

 

Without a step change in strategic transport investment, our objectives for inclusive and sustainable economic growth are at risk. We will also fail to achieve the higher value and more productive jobs and agglomeration benefits we are seeking to deliver in our region. Transport should be at the heart of improving access to opportunity for all our residents, driving transformation and creating a more vibrant and resilient city region.

 

Transport across the region is responsible for approximately 2,770 tCO2e, equating to 39% of the total carbon footprint, which needs to be tackled to meet our net zero target. The decarbonisation of our transport network will also have the added benefit of significantly improving air quality and reducing nitrogen oxide gases.

 

In 2019, SYMCA published an Integrated Rail Plan (our Plan) for South Yorkshire (Appendix A), setting out a 25 year vision for how rail improvements can support the delivery of our Transport Strategy and the Mayor’s Vision for Transport (Appendix B). It sets out how the region needs access to a properly planned high-speed rail network that is well connected to the conventional network and serving a wider spread of towns and cities to deliver agglomeration and growth.

 

Our Plan was a fundamental part of our submission to the National Infrastructure Commission when they were developing their Rail Needs Assessment (RNA) for the Midlands and the North on behalf of Government in 2020. This included a clear summary of what is needed for rail in South Yorkshire, showing how an integrated, sequenced approach to programming rail services and infrastructure improvements can deliver greater benefits, more quickly and support wider plans for sustainable economic development, jobs and skills. We have appended our RNA Prospectus to this submission for information (Appendix C).

 

Through our Plan, and our ongoing involvement in the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project with Transport for the North (TfN), we hoped that the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) for the Midlands and the North would provide a clear and ambitious pipeline of improvements in rail connectivity that would support local, regional and national growth ambitions.

Not only was the IRP published with a significant delay from the original timetable, only a limited number of the interventions that SYMCA identified as key priorities in its RNA Prospectus are included in the IRP. This means that the IRP as published:

 

 

For these reasons, SYMCA is submitting this evidence to the Committee.

 

We have based our submission around the questions posed in the call for evidence, expanding on these issues with examples. Further detail on our IRP aspirations is also contained in our RNA Prospectus and HS2 and NPR Growth Strategy summary attached as appendices. However, we would wish to state at the outset that the lack of detailed analysis and evidence provided by Government to support the decisions made in the IRP hampers our ability to develop a comprehensive response.

 

The contribution that the IRP will make to rail capacity and connectivity for (a) passengers and (b) freight in (i) the Midlands and the North and (ii) the UK

 

The previous proposals for HS2 and NPR were intended to create a ‘step-change’ in the connectivity of South Yorkshire, and particularly Sheffield, to adjacent centres across the North as well as to the Midlands and London. The fact that both networks have been broken up within the IRP and only individual elements taken forward means that the IRP now has only limited plans to enhance capacity and connectivity in South Yorkshire.

 

The electrification of the Midland Mainline to Sheffield that was cancelled in 2017, and the plans to run HS2 services through to Sheffield with a journey time of 87 minutes, are both welcome. The plans for HS2 are broadly in line with the previous HS2 proposals for connecting South Yorkshire to the Midlands and London, albeit with a pared-back HS2 line and more conventional line running.

 

The re-stated commitment to improvements to the Hope Valley Line that have been awaiting implementation since 2017 is also welcome.

 

Potential future electrification of this line is mentioned in the IRP, as is the possibility of a third fast train from South Yorkshire to Manchester that the upgrade scheme will enable. However, these remain only proposals and there is no commitment to undertake them.

 

The refocusing of the core NPR network solely on the east-west axis between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds means that South Yorkshire will have one of the largest disparities between the preferred NPR network supported by TfN and Northern Leaders, and that included within the IRP. Indeed, Sheffield and South Yorkshire have been effectively cut off from the NPR network, after many years of engaging constructively in the development work by TfN, in conjunction with the DfT.

 

There is little mention of further improvements between Sheffield and Manchester, other than to identify potential barriers on the approach to Manchester but without any solutions proposed. This means that journey times will still be nearer to an hour than the aspirational 30 minutes.

Furthermore, the planned NPR journey time improvements to Manchester Airport and Liverpool will also not be realised.

 

The NPR corridor between Sheffield and Hull, where journey times could be reduced to around 60 minutes, is not mentioned at all, despite this being a key route serving Doncaster.

 

Perhaps the most serious omission that affects South Yorkshire is the lack of commitment to improving high-speed connectivity between Sheffield and Leeds, despite the significant amount of scheme development work that has been undertaken in the last few years to develop a credible and deliverable preferred NPR option for this corridor. Instead, the IRP simply proposes a further study into how to enable HS2 trains to serve Leeds – this is a major step backwards and undermines our plans to improve connectivity between South and West Yorkshire, and onwards to York and Newcastle.

 

Just 30 miles apart, the cities of Sheffield and Leeds, along with their surrounding conurbations, have a combined population of around 1.4 million people and support 2 million jobs, making them together one of the three biggest regional economies in the UK outside London. Yet despite their proximity, the current rail journey between the two city centres takes around 40 minutes for the fastest trains – only one per hour – with most much slower. Bringing the collective assets, resources, institutions and skills of both Sheffield and Leeds closer together is essential to their continued growth as an economic engine.

 

The preferred NPR network included a series of interventions north of Sheffield including a connection to the HS2 line at Clayton Junction that would have enabled a 4 train per hour (tph) service between the two cities with a journey time of 24 minutes. Two new NPR stations on this line were identified to enhance regional connectivity for Rotherham and Barnsley Dearne Valley, and the proposals would also enhance connectivity to the North East and Scotland.

 

Given the IRP decision to curtail the Eastern Leg of HS2 at East Midlands Parkway, there is still a strong argument for implementing the improvements between Sheffield and South Kirkby Junction, including electrification, in the near term as these are not dependent on the approach to Leeds, and would speed up journeys for existing trains between Sheffield and Leeds. Furthermore, there is a case for extending the Midland Mainline electrification scheme through to the East Coast Main Line at Doncaster. This would provide a second electrified route between London and Yorkshire / North East, adding resilience into the network and accelerating the decarbonisation of the railway network.

 

This systematic, integrated and sequential approach to delivering much needed and long-awaited transformational enhancements to the rail network in South Yorkshire does not seem to have been a feature of the IRP and this undermines the aims and objectives that underpin it and the importance of an integrated plan for rail investment.

 

Whether and how the IRP will “level up” communities in the Midlands and the North

 

Our Plan set out what investment is needed on our rail network and how plans at a local, regional and national level need to be aligned in order to realise the Mayor’s Vision for Transport and to help deliver a transport system that works for everyone. The interventions that we identified were critical to ‘level up’ South Yorkshire and achieve the wider objectives of our Strategic Economic Plan (Appendix D) and HS2/NPR Growth Strategy (Appendix E).

 

As noted above, the fragmentation of HS2 and NPR means that achieving these outcomes is not possible as the IRP stands, putting South Yorkshire at a relative disadvantage when it comes to connectivity with neighbouring cities in the Midlands and North and onward connections further afield, such as the South and South West, Wales and Scotland.

 

More importantly, the IRP could increase the disparity between some of the areas within South Yorkshire by omitting our proposals for two new stations in South Yorkshire – in in the Dearne Valley to the east of Barnsley and at Rotherham on the mainline.

 

Both of these stations would provide access to regional and long-distance rail services to a far greater proportion of the South Yorkshire population, spreading the benefits of the investment and helping to support SYMCA’s economic and housing growth plans. Initial analysis by TfN shows how Barnsley Dearne Valley and Rotherham stations can grow the rail market in South Yorkshire and both provided positive contributions to the NPR business case.

 

Indeed, a new station at Rotherham shows a positive revenue case and a high value for money even without the planned NPR and HS2 services. For the IRP not to recognise this clear benefit and seemingly move consideration of this enhancement into a longer-term study of HS2 services to Leeds runs contrary to the desire to ‘level up’ communities.

 

The omission also undervalues the complementary investment that devolved funding within South Yorkshire was seeking to align with the proposals. SYMCA included further work on the new mainline station at Rotherham in its recent City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement programme and Rotherham Council is seeking to purchase the required land as part of its agreed Towns Fund programme. Lack of recognition in the IRP of the new station puts this complementary investment, and the overall outcomes envisaged, at some risk.

 

The diagram below, reproduced from our Plan, shows how we envisaged HS2 and NPR and other rail investment working with locally led proposals to deliver the required outcomes. (N.B. This diagram was developed in 2019 for our Integrated Rail Plan and some items are now superseded by the Government’s IRP or other developments).


Diagram, schematic Description automatically generated

 

 

There are a number of areas across South Yorkshire where the planned investment could have the greatest impact on social cohesion – these are the areas that currently experience “transport poverty”. This is defined as an area of high deprivation where both public transport uptake and car ownership are low. Some 108,000 people currently experience transport poverty across South Yorkshire and spatial analysis indicates clusters of high deprivation and transport poverty are evident in the Dearne Valley – the proposed Barnsley Dearne Valley station provides an opportunity to transform connectivity here - as well as in Rotherham and parts of Doncaster.

 

How the IRP will affect rail infrastructure and services outside the Midlands & North

 

The proposed HS2 and NPR networks provided significant benefits for South Yorkshire in terms of onward connections to the North East and Scotland, bringing Newcastle within 95 minutes of Sheffield and Edinburgh just over two hours away, linking a series of advanced manufacturing hubs along the eastern spine of the UK. These benefits will now no longer be realised, reducing collaboration potential for our businesses in these fields.

 

The impact of the IRP on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) is also uncertain – one of the benefits for South Yorkshire of HS2 was the released capacity on the ECML and the potential to run additional services via Doncaster, enhancing connectivity to the east of our region. Without such released capacity, it is difficult to see how such benefits can be realised.

 

Indeed, this highlights another failing of the IRP – that it sometimes fails to recognise the knock-on effects of the recommendations. The recent Continuous Strategic Modular Planning (CMSP) work undertaken by Network Rail at Doncaster highlights a number of capacity constraints with future demand. The timing and nature of the required interventions was, to some extent, dependent on the opening of HS2 Phase 2b. The IRP fails to recognise that without HS2, enhancements at Doncaster will be needed sooner than previously anticipated.

 

Enhancements at Doncaster (and electrification from Sheffield to Doncaster) may actually offset the lack of HS2/NPR services to the North East and Scotland, but without a recognition that improvements are needed at Doncaster, the IRP seems to miss both this impact and the opportunity.

 

The challenges to central Government, Great British Railways, regional and local authorities, transport bodies and other stakeholders in delivering the IRP

 

The IRP was intended to herald a long-term pipeline that would allow businesses to invest in the skills needed to deliver the enhancements. The rail sector is an important element of the South Yorkshire economy. For example, between 3,400 and 5,910 people are employed in the rail industry in Doncaster, the higher figure representing 4.2% of total employment in the town, generating around £898 million of economic output. The town has already seen considerable investment in its rail cluster and the presence of assets including the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure. The further uncertainty created by the IRP does not necessarily support the plans to grow the skills base with any degree of certainty.

 

The reversal of the previous devolution of responsibility with the transfer of NPR client role from TfN as co-client to DfT as sole client, means that there is a consequent reduction in political accountability and input from Partners in the North. This seems at odds with the devolution of transport funding and responsibility through the SYMCA and results in an even more fragmented governance arrangement that does not bode well for efficient delivery and can cause a misalignment of funding and planning priorities, as well as accountability.

 

For example, it is not clear what the impact of the IRP will be on the collaborative growth strategies that have been developed around the main station locations, such as the one for South Yorkshire attached for information. The Sheffield Midland Station and Sheaf Valley Development Framework, part of our HS2 Growth Strategy, sets out an integrated plan for the long-term regeneration of the station and the surrounding area.

 

Modelling suggests increases in development areas in the vicinity of the station over and above the baseline of 186,060 sq. m of commercial space, 1,220 residential units and 4,440 sq. m of retail units. The delivery of the Framework is intrinsically linked to the future growth of Sheffield, yet the IRP induces more uncertainty for the public and private sector.


The disruption involved in upgrading existing railway lines will be very significant, compared to the creation of new segregated infrastructure. The period of disruption has been noted in reports to be up to 15 years in duration. Nowhere have we seen the cost in productivity and GVA loss factored into decisions on IRP projects and the impact of decarbonisation ambitions of forcing many millions of passengers into road vehicles has been completely disregarded.

 

How the rail schemes in the IRP will integrate and interact with HS2

 

The reduction in the HS2 network in South Yorkshire means that there is very little interaction between the ‘new’ HS2 network and the IRP schemes that affect the region.

 

We do not believe that the IRP integrates very well at all with our local and regional aspirations and seems to create a greater divide between the remains of the HS2 and NPR networks than previously when all parties were working together to provide a truly integrated solution.

 

We note that the IRP states that the line of route of HS2 Phase 2b should be safeguarded until further work is done on how to serve Leeds using HS2 services, which continues to create blight and uncertainty for some of our communities. This serves to emphasise the need to conclude this study as soon as possible, building on much of the work done to date rather than a lengthy re- evaluation that would simply extend this uncertainty. It is important that this study is commenced as soon as possible, yet two months after the IRP was published, we have yet to see the scope or hear anything from DfT about it. Given how long the IRP was delayed, we would have expected the scope for this study to already be drafted and ready to commence.

 

How the rail improvement schemes in the IRP were selected, and whether those selections represent equity between and within regions

 

The lack of suitable and robust supporting evidence for the IRP makes it difficult to answer this question.

 

We are aware of the political importance of equity between and within regions as fundamental to the aims of the Levelling Up agenda. However, our understanding was that the IRP would examine and determine the right schemes to marry local, regional and national needs and set out a clear pipeline that would help the industry deliver in an efficient manner and also allow local and combined authorities to develop their economic and spatial plans in a complementary way and prioritise local investment accordingly. As we have tried to demonstrate in this submission, the IRP as it stands fails to achieve this.

 

Whether the IRP represents value for money for UK taxpayers

 

Again, without more detailed evidence and assessment, it is not possible to answer this question. However, drawing on the previous response regarding a lack of efficiency and co-ordination in complementary investment, including the private sector, the ability of the IRP to represent value for money and maximise economic outcomes must be in question.

 

The abandoning of the full NPR and HS2 network does not recognise the £millions that have been spent so far on the development of that network by DfT, HS2 Ltd and TfN, including substantial value for money and cost saving exercises. That investment now seems to have been wasted and the full benefits to the North and Midlands will not be realised.

 

Appendix A – Link to South Yorkshire Integrated Rail Plan - https://southyorkshire- ca.gov.uk/Explore_Transport

Appendix B – Link to Mayor’s Vision for Transport - https://southyorkshire- ca.gov.uk/Explore_Transport

Appendix C – SYMCA Rail Needs Assessment Prospectus

Appendix D – Link to Strategic Economic Plan - https://southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/explore/policy Appendix E – SYMCA HS2 and NPR Strategy for Growth Summary

 

January 2022


 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 



 


FOREWORD

 

A person wearing a suit and tie Description automatically generated

Poor rail connections limit the flow of people, ideas and businesses both within our City Region and between other parts of the north of England. We need a clear plan of action, one that draws together planned national, pan-regional projects such as HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and local investment in community rail stations and transport interchanges to ensure we build a transport system that is fit for the 21st century.

We welcome the fact that the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), on behalf of the Government, is preparing an Integrated Rail Plan for the Midlands and the North (IRPMN), aimed at better integration of planned major investment in HS2 and NPR, and aligning them more closely with local proposals.

We also welcome the opportunity to influence the IRPMN and set out clearly how we see it shaping the development of the rail network serving Sheffield City Region over the next 20 years. Our City Region sits on the boundary between the North and the Midlands and also at a key juncture between HS2 and NPR. We therefore want to ensure we secure a more integrated approach to the design and delivery of these two major rail projects as well as services linking the North and Midlands. We believe the IRPMN provides a real opportunity to accelerate aspects of HS2 and NPR and to deliver them in a more joined up way as part of an improved rail network for everyone. At present, there is very little in the HS2 scheme that provides direct benefit for the Sheffield City Region – this is an anomaly that the IRPMN has the chance to address.

I am therefore pleased to present this Prospectus setting out the Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority’s priorities and a suggested integrated delivery programme for inclusion within the IRPMN. The document builds on our own Integrated Rail Plan and our response to the NIC’s Rail Needs Assessment that we submitted in May 2020.

Of course, we need a firm commitment from the Government to the HS2 Phase 2b eastern leg and NPR, building on the recent funding commitment to the TransPennine Route Upgrade. This should be complemented by much needed shorter term upgrades to the rail network such as the Hope Valley Line capacity scheme and capacity improvements around Sheffield Midland station. This investment is vital to support the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the ‘levelling up’ of the North, providing certainty to the market and supporting rail jobs and supply chains.

In particular, we are calling for early delivery of aspects of both HS2 and NPR programmes on the Sheffield spur and ‘northern loop’, including early electrification of the full Midland Mainline from Market Harborough to Sheffield and then north towards Doncaster and Leeds. This should be coupled with the line speed and capacity upgrades required to enable HS2 and NPR trains to run alongside local and regional trains. As part of this we would expect to see early delivery of the tram-train extension to Doncaster to enable the additional NPR/HS2 services on the corridor, and the construction of the new stations at Barnsley Dearne Valley and Rotherham. Completion of this package of improvements would deliver a HS2 and NPR-ready section of the network within the next 10 years.

We have been working closely with TfN, Network Rail and our neighbouring regions in the North and Midlands to set out this programme of interventions, one that secures the optimum future rail services across our areas and beyond. It is vital that Sheffield City Region is not ‘left behind’ by investment focussed on other regions and lines, and that it is front and centre of the IRPMN. The IRPMN should also address the needs of our whole City Region including areas served by the East Coast Main Line as well as the Midland Mainline and those that may not get any direct benefit from HS2 and NPR but may suffer adversely from the HS2 main line going through them.

I look forward to continued engagement on the IRPMN and to seeing some early wins announced soon.

Mayor Dan Jarvis MBE MP.

 


INTRODUCTION

 

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), on behalf of the Government, is preparing an Integrated Rail Plan for the Midlands and the North (IRPMN), aimed at better integration of planned major investment in HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and aligning them more closely with each other and with local proposals. The Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority (SCR MCA) is seeking a Better Deal for South Yorkshire from HS2 and NPR through this process, and this Prospectus outlines a series of ‘asks’ from SCR designed to inform the final IRPMN.

Given the city-to-city connectivity provided by both HS2 and NPR, this Prospectus concentrates on what SCR wishes to see in terms of connectivity with some of its closest city region pairs, notably Leeds and Manchester, but also the East and West Midlands, the North East and Scotland, as well as burgeoning economic connections elsewhere across the UK. However, the Prospectus also recognises the key role that rail will play in connecting people within SCR, particularly our urban centres and identified growth zones, and so includes a number of local rail interventions that show how the IRPMN fits with the SCR Integrated Rail Plan (SCR IRP), contributing to a single integrated rail plan for the North.

Finally, the Prospectus outlines how an integrated, sequenced approach to programming rail service and infrastructure improvements to SCR’s rail network and services can deliver greater benefits more quickly and support wider plans for economic development, jobs and skills. These improvements will go further and faster on decarbonisation than is currently planned, may de-risk some elements of the current HS2 proposals, and provide Government with a means of starting to deliver the NPR network within the next five years. They also show how SCR’s own ambitious agenda for transport will complement national investment, improving access to jobs, opportunities and services right across South Yorkshire, thereby securing a Better Deal for all partners.

 

 

SCR’S RAIL NETWORK TODAY

 

OVERVIEW

 

The diagram opposite shows the existing rail network in SCR and the key links to surrounding areas.

The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is the principal north-south rail line in the east of the City Region, linking Doncaster and Retford to London, West Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland. Doncaster is an important national railway hub on the ECML that provides links to a wide range of destinations and interchange between services. Doncaster is therefore a major transport hub for SCR.

The Midland Mainline (MML) is the key rail link between the central and western parts of SCR, principally Sheffield, to London and the East and West Midlands. Barnsley and Rotherham are not directly served by intercity connections at present, requiring interchange in either case at either

Sheffield or Doncaster for most long distance services.

 


There is no direct rail connection between Barnsley and Doncaster or between Barnsley and Rotherham, restricting access to the national rail network and travel choices within Barnsley and the Dearne Valley.

SCR’s freight network supports our nationally important industries distributing goods and materials from the City Region to destinations across the UK and for exports through connections to the Humber ports. The current situation of a mixed-traffic railway across much of the North, where freight and passenger trains largely use the same lines impacts on performance and limits opportunities for more freight on rail. The

two-track network with multiple flat junctions and limited passing opportunities is the single greatest connectivity constraint for rail services within, to and from SCR. There is a wide disparity in train speeds which limits available network capacity. Addressing this through providing separate infrastructure for the fastest trains reduces the gap between fastest and slowest trains which is expected to result in a release of capacity and improved capability on the existing network.

 

SHEFFIELD TO LEEDS CORRIDOR

 

Just 30 miles apart, the cities of Sheffield and Leeds, along with their surrounding city regions, are integral parts of the future advanced manufacturing and industrial spine of the UK and have a combined population of around 1.4 million people, with almost 5 million people living in the two wider city regions. Despite their proximity, the current rail journey between the two city centres takes at least 40 minutes for the fastest trains – however, this service is generally only hourly, and is often unreliable and crowded.

The table opposite shows the current pattern of rail services provided between Leeds and Sheffield, and the mix of fast, semi-fast and stopping services that link the two cities, whilst also serving key intermediate centres of Barnsley and Rotherham.

The hourly ‘fast’ services are currently provided under the CrossCountry franchise, continuing to Derby, Birmingham and the South West beyond Sheffield to the south and to the North East and Scotland beyond Leeds. An additional CrossCountry service each hour is also routed via Doncaster.

The ‘semi-fast’ services are currently provided by Northern Trains through directly operated railway arrangements and continue beyond Sheffield to Nottingham and Lincoln respectively. The stopping services are also provided by Northern Trains and do not continue beyond Sheffield or Leeds.

Aside from the ECML from Retford, through Doncaster to Wakefield/Leeds and north towards York, most of the network on this corridor is unelectrified at present. Much of the network is also a two-track railway with at-grade junctions, some of which, notably those between Sheffield and Swinton, are identified as critical capacity constraints by Network Rail in their Continuous Modular Strategic Planning (CMSP) work for the Sheffield area.

The capacity of platforms and the approaches at both Sheffield Midland and Leeds stations have also been identified as significant constraints on future growth, not just for SCR but also more widely for rail services in the North and Midlands.

 


SHEFFIELD TO MANCHESTER CORRIDOR

 

The cities of Sheffield and Manchester also have some of the poorest transport connections between major city pairs in the UK with both road and rail connections being slow and having capacity constraints, as well as being particularly susceptible to adverse weather. The current rail journey between the two city centres via the Hope Valley Line takes just over 50 minutes at best. Trains are crowded and the customer experience is poor, and this is not helped by relatively old rolling stock and a fragmented service offer. Also, the limited available train paths in this corridor have to be shared between passenger services and significant freight demand serving a number of the Peak District quarries.

The table opposite shows the current pattern of rail services provided between Sheffield and Manchester, and the mix of fast and stopping services that link the two cities – the ‘fast’ services approach Manchester via Stockport whilst the stopping services are routed via Marple.

The two hourly ‘fast’ services are provided by the TransPennine Express franchise, from Manchester Airport/Piccadilly and continuing to Doncaster, Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes, and the East Midlands Railway franchise, as part of the service between Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham. Stopping services are provided by Northern Trains through directly operated railway arrangements, serving intermediate stations on a generally hourly service pattern and do not continue beyond Sheffield or Manchester.

Freight operations through the Hope Valley are extensive and complex and the desire to reduce heavy goods vehicle traffic through the Peak District National Park means that this is likely to continue. One of the corridor’s challenges is how to combine the strategic needs of longer distance passenger and freight services with those of the stopping services, providing important local connectivity and access for tourism.

The line is unelectrified and is predominantly a two-track railway with at-grade junctions. The capacity of platforms and the approaches to both Sheffield Midland and Manchester Piccadilly stations, particularly the through platforms 13 and 14 at Manchester Piccadilly and the Castlefield rail corridor, have been identified as significant constraints both today and for future rail growth, again not just for SCR but also more widely for rail services in the North and Midlands.

 

PASSENGER DEMAND

 

The graphs opposite and overleaf show recent and forecast levels of growth in rail use for all services using Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester. Growth in the Yorkshire and the Humber region in particular has been stronger than elsewhere in the UK – for example, whilst the number of rail passenger journeys in 2017/18 in the UK had more than doubled since 1995/96, during the same period, rail trips in Yorkshire and the Humber almost tripled to 73.8 million journeys in 2017/18.

 

 

Source: Network Rail “CMSP: Sheffield Demand Analysis Note” (Base Year 2016)

 


Source: Transport for the North, “Leeds, Stourton and West Yorkshire Connectivity”

 

Source: Network Rail “CMSP: Sheffield Demand Analysis Note” and “Greater Manchester’s South East Rail Corridor Study 2020” (Base Year 2016)

 

As a result of this continuous growth over the last 20 years, the proportion of crowded services has increased and both local and longer distance services are affected by significant overcrowding at peak times. The Passengers in Excess of Capacity standard, which shows the proportion of standard class passengers that is above an accepted capacity level (allowing for both seated and standing passengers) on services at their busiest point, indicates trains arriving at and departing from Sheffield in the morning peak period were over capacity by 1.2% in 2017, while in the afternoon peak the figure was 0.8%. For Leeds, the corresponding figures are 3.3% in the morning peak and 1.7% in the afternoon peak and for Manchester, 4.3% in the morning peak and 2.2% in the afternoon peak.

Whilst the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on future rail demand is not yet clear, a return to even previous levels of demand within the next decade will result in that demand being in excess of the capacity available along the corridors between Sheffield and Leeds and Manchester – it is crucial that the IRPMN recognises the importance of improving service levels and that the capacity to achieve this should be a key component of any future investment.

 

FUTURE RAIL INVESTMENTS

 

HIGH SPEED 2

 

Although being developed as a new national high speed rail network, the HS2 project has been divided into three main phases for delivery:

– the Oakervee Review recommended the merging the construction of Phase 2a with Phase 1

 


Phase 2b includes a dedicated spur taking high speed trains off the HS2 main line south of Chesterfield and running into Sheffield city centre on existing lines, which would be electrified, with some capacity improvements required between Dore and Sheffield. There are also plans for a junction back on to the HS2 main line from the Dearne Valley Line north of Sheffield at Clayton, to allow HS2 and/or NPR services to use the HS2 main line between Clayton and Leeds/York.

However, improvements to the network between Sheffield Midland and Clayton Junction are not included within the remit of HS2 Ltd and the scope of Phase 2b at this time – they are within the remit of Transport for the North (TfN) to deliver as part of the NPR project – this is an example of the disjointed approach that the IRPMN should look to address.

To support SCR’s submission to the IRPMN, we have assessed the extent to which the current proposed HS2 alignment through South Yorkshire could and should be revised, to mitigate impacts on property and businesses – an appendix to this document provides further details.

Whilst it has been suggested that revising the scope of HS2 in terms of maximum line speed could present opportunities to revise the alignment, speed is actually less of an issue than might appear to be the case in terms of potentially re-examining the proposed HS2 alignment. Even using a lower 140mph design speed, there is little to be gained from tightening curves and increasing gradients, and if such a review were necessary, it must consider the whole of the HS2 Phase 2b eastern leg alignment, rather than just the section through South Yorkshire.

When major strategic national infrastructure is being delivered, it is unfortunately inevitable that there will be some winners and some losers. What the review undertaken demonstrates is that the proposed HS2 main line alignment (via the M1 and M18 corridors) has taken into account, as comprehensively as possible, a wide range of potential impacts and associated mitigations.

On this basis, the SCR’s requirement for the section of HS2 main line passing through South Yorkshire is that the highest levels of mitigation of local impacts must be applied, consistent with and similar in nature to those employed for HS2 Phase 1. SCR and local partners expect to be fully involved in discussions at the earliest stage and throughout the planning and design process in order to provide the best possible local knowledge and advice regarding potential impacts and their mitigation. In most cases, the emphasis is likely to be on minimising disruption during the construction phase – this is especially so for the section at Bramley, adjacent to the M18. Innovative construction techniques must be considered in order that detriment to residential and business properties is eliminated at this location.

The current plans for HS2 services for Sheffield Midland station are two classic compatible trains per hour (tph) between London Euston and Sheffield with a journey time of about 87 minutes, compared with 120 minutes for the current fastest train via the Midland Mainline. Provision of a new junction at Clayton alongside an upgraded ‘northern loop’ connection north from Sheffield Midland, would enable the two HS2 London services to continue north to Leeds and for this route to potentially also be used by Birmingham to Leeds HS2 services, adding a further two HS2 trains into Sheffield, and also helping to deliver the plans for NPR on this corridor. However, as delivery of the ‘northern loop’ is within the remit of TfN the through NPR project, there is currently no commitment for HS2 Ltd to extend any HS2 trains north of Sheffield to Leeds.

 


NORTHERN POWERHOUSE RAIL

 

NPR is TfN’s and the Government’s vision to transform the economy of the North of England by significantly improving the capacity, frequency and journey times of rail links between the main economic centres and important hubs in between. The current proposal is to provide 4tph between Sheffield and Leeds with an expected journey time of just over 20 minutes and 4tph between Sheffield and Manchester with a journey time of between 33 and 38 minutes for the fastest services (the original conditional output for both corridors was 6tph in 30 minutes).

The infrastructure proposals to achieve these plans between Sheffield and Leeds include an upgrade of the existing route between Sheffield Midland and the proposed Clayton Junction including track re-alignment, re-signalling and electrification, as well as the grade separation of Wincobank Junction. Two new NPR stations also form part of these plans to unlock sustainable economic growth in areas of high multiple deprivation.

The first is a new parkway station located in the Dearne Valley, adjacent to the A635 at Goldthorpe, which would provide access to HS2/NPR services for parts of Barnsley, Wakefield and Doncaster districts rather than accessing these services at Sheffield or Leeds.

Indicative journey times from the proposed new station are displayed in the table – current minimum journey times are based on the fastest journey times from the existing Dearne Valley stations (Thurnscoe, Goldthorpe and Bolton-on-Dearne). It is expected that the station will attract commuters wishing to travel to Leeds and Sheffield, who may currently drive given the surrounding catchment is not directly served by a rail station at present.

The proposed new station at Barnsley Dearne Valley supports ambitious local plans for housing growth in the area, create development opportunities for investment, maximising the impact of NPR and other transformational investments such as SCR’s own plans for direct and quick bus rapid transit connections between Barnsley and Doncaster along with improvements to the A635, particularly around the villages of Hickleton and Marr, which will also enhance access to the new station.

The importance of this station, benefitting areas of South Yorkshire, but also areas to the south of the Leeds City Region, means that the accelerated development of the station and its necessary connections should be advocated within the IRPMN.

TfN is also proposing a new NPR station on the main line at Rotherham to support the economic regeneration of the town. This station will allow NPR trains between Sheffield and Leeds and Hull to stop there and will significantly enhance regional rail connectivity for Rotherham, enabling residents and businesses to capitalise on the benefits generated from NPR services. The Manchester Airport to Cleethorpes NPR service could also stop at the proposed station.

Furthermore, other local and regional services could potentially also call at new station, providing local connectivity to sizeable towns including Wakefield, as well as intermediate stations to Sheffield and Leeds.

 


A tram-train stop on the nearby branch line would link the new station to the town centre, and other local communities.

To ensure that the new station can bring much needed early economic benefits to Rotherham, its accelerated delivery should form part of the IRPMN.

Onward connections to the North East can be provided through the HS2 main line spur east of Leeds and thereafter the ECML from Church Fenton. Complementary upgrades to the line from Sheffield to Hull (via Doncaster) are also envisaged to deliver the plans for 2tph NPR services in this corridor, one via Selby and one via Goole.

The infrastructure proposals to achieve the plans between Sheffield and Manchester include an upgrade of the existing route beyond the committed Hope Valley Line improvements, including track re-alignment, capacity enhancements, re-signalling and potential electrification to enable 100mph running.

There are currently two options being considered for the route into Manchester Piccadilly – one would see all 4tph NPR passenger services going via Stockport, whilst the other would see 2tph routed via Marple into the proposed HS2 station at Manchester Piccadilly and the remaining 2tph via Stockport. Given the importance and additional benefits of enhanced connections to Manchester Airport, the Liverpool City Region, North Wales and the North West, the second option is preferred NPR solution for SCR. This would allow 2tph NPR services to use the HS2 Manchester spur to carry on to Manchester Airport and Liverpool, and for the other 2tph to potentially be extended to Chester and Preston/Blackpool.

 

 

HOPE VALLEY LINE IMPROVEMENTS

 

There have been plans in place for some time to improve the Hope Valley Line in order to provide the ability to run a third fast passenger service in each hour as well as providing additional freight benefits and much-needed additional resilience for trans-Pennine connections (particularly when compared to the alternative road network).

Providing a high performance, intercity style service with modern rolling stock and significantly more seats as envisaged in the NPR plans is a high priority for both SCR and Greater Manchester in order to provide much better connections between two of the UK’s largest city regions. These proposals can be delivered in a phased manner to achieve benefits earlier and be integrated with wider plans for HS2, NPR and classic network services, including freight.

A Transport and Works Act Order was granted for the first phase of these plans in 2018 and includes:

 

Network Rail has planned to deliver these improvements within the next three years (by 2023) as part its CP6 plans and they form the basis for the further improvements needed to the Sheffield to Manchester corridor to deliver the proposals for NPR. It is vital that the third fast train per hour is planned for as part of the IRPMN.

 


LOCAL RAIL CONNECTIONS

 

The SCR IRP sets out the City Region’s proposals to enhance local rail connections that support sustainable economic growth and the plans for decarbonisation. These comprise a mix of service, station and infrastructure improvements, including electrification, that aim to make use of and build on the HS2 and NPR proposals and to spread the benefits of national investment as widely as possible across the SCR.

In addition to a programme of station improvements and potential new stations, such as at Waverley on the Lincoln Line, service aspirations include two trains per hour between Sheffield and Huddersfield and a bid to re-open the Barrow Hill Line between Sheffield and Chesterfield.

 

 

EXTENDING THE SUPERTRAM NETWORK AND SERVICES

 

In 2018 a trial of tram-train services commenced between Sheffield and Rotherham Parkgate, utilising sections of both heavy rail and light rail networks. This complements the existing stopping heavy rail service between Sheffield and Rotherham whilst providing enhanced accessibility for locations in between. TfN plans to extend tram-train services through to Swinton and then onwards to Doncaster as part of the NPR plans for the Sheffield to Leeds corridor.

Extending the tram-train service is dependent on the renewal of the Supertram network, for which a business case has recently been submitted to Government, and a study commissioned by SCR is also underway looking at extensions to that network within and beyond Sheffield to serve the future needs of the City Region.

 

 

FUTURE CONNECTIVITY REQUIREMENTS

 

The SCR MCA recently published an updated Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) for consultation. The SEP sets out what needs to be done to grow the economy and transform the lives and wellbeing of people, in the city region and aims to create a stronger, greener and fairer future.

At the core of the SEP’s approach is a focus on building on SCR’s existing capabilities to increase productivity and innovation in key future sectors of the economy, which are priorities in the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

These include:

To help achieve its vision, a high priority for the SEP is to improve and decarbonise transport networks to enhance access to jobs, markets, skills and supply chains, and business-to-business connectivity. Rail can effectively move very large numbers of people in and out of city centres – this produces stronger agglomeration effects and provides increased access to amenities such as entertainment and services, supporting economic growth within city centres, and the nearby towns that people commute from. Rail can also offer faster journeys between city centres, increasing the market for firms in each city and allowing successful businesses to grow. Hence an effective and resilient rail network is key to SCR’s future plans.

This approach is supported by the TfN Strategic Transport Plan, which identifies the North’s prime

and enabling economic activities - these are already strongly performing sectors that will continue to compete nationally and internationally.

The mapping of these capabilities clearly shows the importance of connectivity to the adjacent city regions of Leeds, Manchester and the East Midlands for the health and digital sectors of the SCR, both of which will benefit from the investment in HS2 and NPR. However, SCR has also identified a need for better connectivity to the internationally significant health innovation cluster around Cambridge and Peterborough.

The TfN analysis also shows important connections to North East and Lancashire for the advanced manufacturing sector, neither of which will be served particularly well by the HS2 or NPR services currently proposed. Further afield, advanced manufacturing clusters in the West Midlands and the West of England could become more attractive markets for SCR businesses as result of improved connections.

The establishment of the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure in Doncaster and Birmingham is one part of the response to the changing skills needs within engineering and construction. Developing a higher skilled workforce along with the growing use of digital technology and rise of automation, will increase productivity and competitiveness. The University Technical Colleges and leading engineering departments at universities in the City Region will also be fundamental to meeting these needs. SCR’s plans for rail investment set out in the SCR IRP are geared to ensuring a high level of accessibility to higher and further education, supporting the investment in HS2 and NPR.

Access to national and international markets is essential in our ever-increasing global economy. We are in an excellent position to capitalise on our existing assets to achieve this, particularly Doncaster Sheffield Airport and the proposed development around it. However, connectivity to the Airport needs to be as sustainable, efficient and effective as possible.

Finally, continued access to the North’s ports will be critical for our growing logistics sector, notably towards the East Coast ports, supporting the ongoing development of rail freight terminals around Doncaster, most notably the iPort site, a 171 hectare intermodal rail terminal that is the largest rail terminal in Yorkshire. In outlining plans to improve connections to ports, we will seek to increase the use of rail for freight wherever possible.

 


MAXIMISING THE OPPORTUNITIES OF HS2 AND NPR – A BETTER DEAL FOR SOUTH YORKSHIRE

 

Building on the current rail network, the plans for HS2 and NPR and the future connectivity needs described above, SCR has considered the opportunities for investment in services, stations and infrastructure to secure a better deal for South Yorkshire – these should be included within the IRPMN.

 

 

SERVICES

 

Various indicative train service specifications (ITSSs) are being developed across the different projects – this is a further indication of the lack of integration that the IRPMN should look to address. Whilst these service specifications are not timetables – they are simply designed to test infrastructure requirements – they are a close indication of the potential services and station stops that are likely to operate in the future. A key recommendation of the IRPMN should be that there is a comprehensive overview of HS2, NPR and Midlands Engine Rail proposals to establish potential synergies across ITSSs as well as conflicts and duplication. Future service aspirations and needs should drive infrastructure investment, not the other way round.

Rail connections between Sheffield and both Leeds and Manchester are relatively poor at present for comparable city region pairs located relatively close together – this is why NPR is such a crucial investment for SCR, but only with the right pattern of services. At present, there are some sub-optimal timings and service propositions from HS2 and NPR for SCR.

With HS2, SCR sees the two services per hour to and from London Euston as a minimum baseline and accepts that their timings will be fixed from London. We expect to see both of these HS2 trains extended north to Leeds via the ‘northern loop’ and for HS2 therefore to provide at least two of the four NPR services on that corridor. However, SCR would like to see one of these London services call at Birmingham Interchange to provide international connectivity at Birmingham Airport and also a connection for Birmingham Curzon Street.

Two HS2 Birmingham to Leeds services were also shown routed via Sheffield in earlier HS2 and NPR ITSSs, thereby providing Sheffield with high speed connectivity to Birmingham and also providing the other two of the four NPR services in the hour between Sheffield and Leeds. However, following pressure to route these two services via the HS2 main line to provide a faster journey time between Birmingham and East Midlands Hub and Leeds, it now looks likely those trains will not serve Sheffield. If these services are routed via the HS2 main line, then the SCR would expect to see two NPR shuttle services provided between Sheffield and Leeds at even intervals, and for the potential to extend these south of Sheffield to the East Midlands and Birmingham, using the HS2 main line, considered.

In addition, SCR expects to see a direct HS2/NPR service between Sheffield and York/Newcastle via the ‘northern loop’ and HS2/ECML.

SCR is supportive of the NPR proposals for enhanced connections to Leeds and Hull and will work with TfN to understand how NPR and/or HS2 services can also connect SCR to the North East and Scotland, as well as the East Midlands.

CrossCountry services provide important regional connections for a number of places that will not be served directly by HS2 or NPR and this connectivity should be maintained both pre- and post-HS2 and NPR. In addition, noting the importance identified previously of continued connections to the North East and Scotland, as well as to the West Midlands and the South West of England, SCR would seek the retention of the current 1tph CrossCountry service via Sheffield and Leeds as well as the 1tph service that is proposed to be truncated at York (or Scarborough) via Doncaster, with both CrossCountry services continuing south from Sheffield to Birmingham via Derby. Through connectivity to Oxford, Reading, Southampton, Bristol and the South West should be retained. Early delivery of the ‘northern loop’ proposals should facilitate this. Whilst HS2 Ltd has not formally identified service patterns from Birmingham Curzon Street via the eastern leg of Phase 2b, SCR will seek 2tph via Chesterfield and Sheffield. These could continue to destinations north of Sheffield to meet NPR and/or HS2 service requirements.

Services on the MML should take advantage of released capacity south of Chesterfield to consider new markets and destinations that complement SCR’s economic growth ambitions. In particular, there is the desire to extend a London St Pancras MML service that currently terminates at Sheffield Midland through to Barnsley and onwards to Leeds, although the viability of this proposal may depend on the rolling stock used for such services in the future.

There is also an outstanding Northern Trains franchise commitment (under the ‘Northern Connect’ brand) to provide a second fast hourly service between Sheffield and Leeds, via Wakefield Westgate. In the short term at least, this remains a service that SCR would wish to see in operation.

Taking all this into account, SCR’s expectations for future regional and national services on the Sheffield to Leeds corridor and beyond are as follows:

These services would be complemented by the extension of tram-train services and connections between Sheffield and Doncaster. An extension of the tram-train network will also assist with some of the capacity problems at Doncaster station, which are currently being examined by Network Rail through their CMSP process. The work to date has identified future capacity constraints at the station, even in the short term with additional LNER services planned from 2021. However, the identified capacity constraints at Doncaster should not be a barrier to continuing the TransPennine Express service between Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes and the hourly service to Lincoln that is included within the East Midlands Railway franchise, as well as maintaining at least the current level of LNER service calls.

For the Sheffield to Manchester corridor, securing the third fast passenger path that the committed Hope Valley Line improvements would facilitate is an urgent requirement – this additional service needs to serve Sheffield.

One of the current challenges for the Hope Valley Line is the fragmentation of services between different providers and serving different customers, which includes the need to accommodate important freight demands. This is continuing with the train service options being developed for the different projects – which highlights a lack of integration that the IRPMN should look to address. Whilst it is recognised that these service specifications are not timetables, they are important in understanding the potential services and connections that can be accommodated in the future.

The plans for NPR would deliver a 4tph service between Sheffield and Manchester, although this does not meet the “transformational” journey time of 30 minutes and 6tph that was the original conditional output set for rail links between the two cities. Further, the initial timetabling work for both HS2 and NPR shows that the proposals do not achieve an even spread of services across a standard hour for these services to Manchester, which should be addressed as part of the NPR plans.

Taking this into account, SCR’s position for a range of future regional and local services on the Sheffield to Manchester corridor is as follows:

 

Again, these services would be complemented by a continued improvement in other local rail services as set out in the TfN Long Term Rail Strategy, a number of which were set out in the SCR IRP and include:

 

The diagram opposite shows the potential capacity across the existing classic rail network released by the various phases of HS2. Whilst this initially looks advantageous to SCR, in reality, there is likely to be very little genuine capacity release as locations not served by HS2 and NPR directly will want/need to retain existing levels of service and see little, if any, increases in journey time for existing services. This conflict means that SCR is pragmatic about how it seeks to maximise the benefits of released capacity through revised service plans.

Future services on the MML should take advantage of released capacity to consider new and existing markets and destinations that complement SCR’s economic growth ambitions, such as Leicester.

The proposals for ECML services post-HS2 are less well- defined, but we acknowledge the ongoing constraints of the section between London King’s Cross and Peterborough and the aspirations for a 9tph service on the ECML north of the connection with HS2 at Church Fenton being developed as part of the NPR proposals.

 

 

The demand forecasts undertaken to date suggest that HS2 abstracts a large proportion of long distance demand and changes the purpose of the ECML to mainly long distance travel between larger towns and medium distance regional connectivity. This allows the role of services on the ECML to be repurposed, providing opportunities for new connections from Doncaster to places such as Cambridge as part of revised service patterns to support SCR’s economic growth ambitions.

 


Bearing in mind the importance of international connectivity to SCR’s economy, Doncaster Sheffield Airport’s proximity to the existing Doncaster – Lincoln Line running adjacent to the top of the runway, plus its proximity to the ECML, has generated a proposal for better rail access to the Airport. This will enable the development of an employment growth hub and new housing adjacent to the Airport in addition to transformational growth in passenger and flight numbers. SCR will continue to work with partners to establish the best possible means of providing rail access to Doncaster Sheffield Airport at the earliest opportunity aligned to the build-out of the growth hub.

 

 

STATIONS

 

At the heart of SCR, the recently published Sheffield Midland Station and Sheaf Valley Development Framework sets out an integrated plan for the long term regeneration of the station and the surrounding area. The overall plan includes the extension of the reconfiguration of Supertram and the Inner Ring Road to improve the environment of the station and access to it, along with new platforms and platform extensions within the station footprint.

The framework develops an integrated hub with clear, easy and safe connections between trains, buses, trams, taxis, walking and cycling.

Delivery of the masterplan will also help ensure seamless interchange between HS2, NPR and other local public transport services, and will link the station better with the rest of the city. Enhanced local connections, including new stations such as that planned at Waverley and rail re-openings such as the Barrow Hill Line will further widen the labour market and employment opportunities across SCR.

The development of the Masterplan is intrinsically linked to the future growth of Sheffield. This means that the outcome will not only be a rail station that is fit for HS2 and NPR and acts as a gateway to the wider City and City Region, but also the creation of significant development opportunities in the vicinity of the station that will have much wider economic benefits.

However, the Network Rail CMSP work identifies some shorter term interventions at the station, notably longer platforms and capacity improvements on the approach to the station from the south, that can, and should, proceed quickly. However, there remain capacity issues with the northern ‘throat’ at the station that will need to be addressed to accommodate increasing demands for local services as well as national and regional ones.

The NPR proposals for two new stations at Barnsley Dearne Valley and Rotherham are integral to SCR’s ambitious growth plans, allowing that future growth should be focused in areas where there is an opportunity to benefit from improved connectivity. The delivery of both stations is possible within the next 10 years and should be pursued to provide the catalyst for further growth in these areas, starting with the production of a masterplan for each station. The theme of enhancing local connectivity is crucial to both new station proposals, and SCR is already configuring its local transport investment programmes around this need.

Platform lengthening at Barnsley will be required to accommodate MML services extended to the town to provide a new direct connection to the East Midlands and London, allied to the radical transformation of the town centre and the ambitious wider growth strategy which supports the delivery of 20,000 new homes and will act as a catalyst to stimulate the delivery of 220 hectares of employment land by 2033.

 


At Doncaster, SCR and local partners have already committed funding to recently completed improvements to the station forecourt that enhance the gateway setting of the station and its connections to the town centre, but once the scale of the track and platform improvements required are established through the CMSP work, there is a need to consider further improvements to the station as part of a holistic future programme. Recognising the continuing vital economic role of the ECML for north-south connectivity, a commitment to deliver a programme of improvements at Doncaster arising from the CMSP work will be vital. Production of an overarching masterplan relating to the development of the station and surrounding network is therefore important to prepare to cement the town’s gateway role on the ECML.

 

 

INFRASTRUCTURE

 

The approach adopted by SCR to the IRPMN has been to identify infrastructure that is either required in advance of, or would be beneficial to deliver in advance of, HS2 and NPR, particularly where the existing rail network is operating above capacity and large parts are significantly constrained. With the proposals for HS2 and NPR, it is essential that parts of the existing rail infrastructure are improved to accommodate a mixture of new and existing services.

But how these improvements are delivered is also important, bearing in mind the decarbonisation and ‘levelling up’ agendas, both of which become even more critical in a post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery period. The way in which the proposals for HS2 and NPR have been developed separately miss the opportunity for more thematic and geographic development and delivery.

For example, SCR has recently re-iterated its support for the electrification of the MML north of the current scheme to Market Harborough – this improvement has a strong business case and was dropped from previous programmes due to the programme of austerity in the early part of the last decade, but with the Government itself indicating that it needs to go further with the electrification of the UK’s rail network, the MML is a prime candidate for such a programme. Indeed, Network Rail has identified full electrification of the MML as a requirement to achieve a net-zero carbon railway as shown by the diagram opposite.

The previous MML electrification proposals continue to Sheffield Midland, and will overlap with many of the HS2 infrastructure improvements planned between Stonebroom Junction and Sheffield. However, the NPR proposals between Sheffield Midland and Clayton Junction also involve electrification, bringing forward the opportunity to consider the electrification of the whole route between Stonebroom Junction and Souty Kirkby Junction (the connection onto the ECML) as a potential opportunity that will benefit all MML and CrossCountry services using this part of the network well in advance of HS2 and NPR.

Combining electrification with the identified linespeed improvements and resignalling between Sheffield Midland and Clayton Junction would deliver a HS2 and NPR-ready section of the network within the next 10 years. This should include a phased approach for improving capacity through Wincobank Junction, addressing some of the existing capacity constraints early, whilst recognising that the larger, more costly grade separated intervention would support longer term growth and new services and be delivered later in the programme, along with capacity improvements between Aldwarke Junction and Swinton and the remodelling of Masborough Junction.

In addition, the capacity improvements identified between Dore and Sheffield as part of the HS2 proposals could be also accelerated (either in isolation or as part of the wholesale improvement of the

 


line between Stonebroom Junction and Sheffield Midland proposed for HS2) well in advance of the rest of Phase 2b to complement the committed Hope Valley Line improvements and assist with journey times and resilience on the Sheffield to Manchester corridor.

When designing the connections between HS2 and NPR with the existing rail network, it will be important to provide flexibility for future growth and connectivity – for example, a 4tph connection at Stonebroom Junction should be provided and the suggestion from the Leeds City Region that an all-moves junction be provided at Clayton has some merit.

This is also why the configuration of Manchester Piccadilly station is important to the SCR, as this will impact on the choices, phasing and future flexibility of services between Sheffield and Manchester, and beyond.

A commitment to the extension of the tram-train network through to at least Doncaster will also start to prepare this part of SCR’s rail network in supporting the plans for HS2 and NPR by creating better access from across the City Region to these national interventions, but also freeing up capacity on the classic network and at Sheffield Midland for regional and national rail services.

The infrastructure upgrades on the line between Sheffield and Swinton will also benefit the NPR route between Sheffield and Hull, as will the tram-train proposals. The line between Swinton and Doncaster will also be electrified for tram-train, and NPR services to Hull via Selby can take advantage of this, as well as potentially other services.

SCR supports the planned capacity improvements on the ECML north of York being developed by TfN and the relevant local and combined authorities to accommodate a mix of HS2, NPR and other services. There are already capacity constraints on the ECML north of York and the HS2/NPR proposals will not resolve these and will probably require choices on how the available capacity (even with enhancements) is used – this could impact on the service choices for the SCR to the North East and Scotland.

It is therefore vital that an integrated solution is developed for the ECML. This should consider options for re-opening the Leamside Line for freight and potentially local passenger services to free up the ECML for express services. This would allow then allow the development of a freight priority route from Doncaster to Newcastle (connecting with the GN/GE Line), which could also potentially release capacity for NPR services from Sheffield to Hull. Where possible enhancement schemes should be delivered early as enabling works for HS2/NPR, such as a series of line speed improvements to allow 140mph running and early wins at York and Darlington.

The ECML Route Study identified a mixture of infrastructure, signalling and rolling stock improvements between Doncaster and Leeds and the potential for additional platforms on the west of Doncaster station to allow more capacity for connecting trains from Sheffield and Leeds.

For the ECML and MML south of SCR, future infrastructure needs will be driven by the service patterns post-HS2, but SCR considers that there are clear opportunities for new connections by rail using the existing infrastructure more efficiently in the first instance, particularly how any released capacity can support economic growth in Doncaster and at Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Capacity released on the southern section of the ECML could also be used to serve intermodal freight flows from East Anglia and the Thames Gateway to Yorkshire and the North East as well as a revised passenger service pattern serving more of the intermediate stops and potentially new destinations such as Cambridge.

There is already the opportunity to free up additional capacity on the ECML through a small number of incremental schemes south of York, including improving freight capacity – in the shorter term this would address some of the current timetabling issues on the ECML and maintain the current level of station calls at Doncaster in advance of HS2.

To complement HS2 and NPR, we will develop future infrastructure requirements across the local SCR network as necessary to support the service and journey time aspirations set out in the TfN Long Term Rail Strategy. Journey time improvements on the Hallam Line between Sheffield, Barnsley and Leeds will be

 


promoted as one of TfN’s first packages of improvements to achieve the journey time standards between major centres set out in the Strategy.

To affect the modal shift contained within SCR’s Transport Strategy may require a minimum of 4tph frequency, which is not achievable in all locations, and so effective connections and interchanges become even more important to achieve the Mayor’s Vision for Transport.

Beyond the proposals to re-open the Barrow Hill Line between Sheffield and Chesterfield, we will investigate opportunities to re-open other disused rail lines and stations and establish new services on existing non-passenger lines, including the Don Valley Line (Sheffield Victoria to Penistone) and the Barnsley to Wakefield Line (via Royston), and Askern Line between Doncaster and Knottingley. These may involve the re-opening of Sheffield Victoria as a second station within the City Centre, and we will also develop options to build new stations where there is likely to be increased demand, such as Waverley and Askern. To support this, it will be important to ensure that Network Rail does not dispose of existing assets that may be needed in the future.

 

 

AN INTEGRATED DELIVERY PROGRAMME

 

Drawing together the analysis undertaken, SCR has developed a suggested integrated delivery programme, based on three categories and timeframes used in the SCR IRP – this programme is offered for inclusion in the IRPMN. This programme is aligned with emerging plans of adjacent authorities and with Network Rail and TfN.

Delivery in the Next Five Years (up to 2025)

Development in the Next Five Years (up to 2025), Delivery between 2025 and 2030

 


Further Investigation in the Next Five Years (up to 2025), Development between 2025 and 2030, Delivery post-2030

A rolling stock strategy also needs to be developed that is in step with the consideration of infrastructure options for coherent traction/capacity/performance/connectivity reasons – there are recent examples of where there has been a mis-match between rolling stock and infrastructure, particularly around electrification, which should not be repeated as more of the network is electrified.

Implementing this programme will show what can be achieved in practice by a fully integrated approach, including delivering benefits early, providing enabling infrastructure, gaining efficiency in costs and delivery, reducing disruption and complementing SCR’s own transport, spatial and economic plans. It also provides a clearer link to the required investment in skills and supply chains, with greater opportunities for locally- based suppliers to become involved in the delivery of smaller scale, linked projects within a rolling pipeline rather than one large project.

Through its commitment to develop the city regional transport network as part of the recently signed Devolution Deal, in addition to its net-zero targets, SCR has signalled what it will do to reap the benefits of the planned investment in HS2 and NPR for everyone. The IRPMN offers the chance to build on this and set out a clear plan as to how rail can play its full role in building back better.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority

11 Broad Street West, Sheffield, United Kingdom

S1 2BQ

+44 (0)114 220 3400

enquiries@sheffieldcityregion.org.uk sheffieldcityregion.org.uk

 

Publication Date: September 2020


 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheffield City Region

HS2 and NPR Strategy for Growth

 


Sheffield City Region HS2 and NPR Strategy for Growth              December 1, 2020

 

 


INTRODUCTION

 

High Speed Two (HS2) and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) are a once- in-a-generation investment in national rail infrastructure that will radically improve connectivity within and between the North, the Midlands and the South by providing new state-of-the-art infrastructure and services serving in Sheffield City Region.

Our City Region needs access to a properly planned high-speed network that is well connected to the conventional network, serving a wider spread of towns and cities. As well as national investment in HS2 and NPR, there needs to be ongoing, complementary investment in the local and regional network to improve capacity, reliability, affordability, and journey times and frequencies, allied to the ambitious rail plans being developed by Midlands Connect.

This was the catalyst for our Integrated Rail Plan, published in 2019, that sets outs what we need from our rail network to achieve the goals, policies and outcomes set out in our Transport Strategy (also published in 2019), building on a national and pan-regional projects such as HS2 and NPR. Since then, we have further developed a rail investment prospectus programme that we have presented to Government in advance of the publication of their own Integrated Rail Plan for the Midlands and the North.

We believe that there is a real opportunity to accelerate aspects of HS2

and NPR and to deliver them in a more joined up way as part of an improved rail network for everyone.


An integrated, sequenced approach to programming rail service and infrastructure improvements to the Sheffield City Region rail network and services can deliver greater benefits, more quickly and support wider plans for economic development, jobs and skills.

Based on this, we have also developed a HS2 and NPR Strategy for Growth – in essence, understanding how the Sheffield City Region can maximise the benefits of HS2 and NPR but also recognising the absolute imperative that the City Region is served effectively by these national

investments, as well as continued improvement in the ‘classic’ rail network such as the East Cast Main Line and the Midland Mainline.

This document summarises a number of work packages that have enabled and supported the development of a HS2 and NPR Strategy for Growth for the City Region which recognises the fundamental role of both projects in delivering transformational connectivity and growth.

The HS2 and NPR Strategy for Growth is focused around four key themes, as shown in the diagram, and this document provides a summary of these four themes, including critical interventions and proposals to maximise the benefits of HS2 and NPR to Sheffield City Region as part of the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda.

We look forward to working with the Department for Transport, the Ministry of

Housing, Communities and Local Government, HS2 Ltd and Transport for the North, as well as local partners, to ensure that everyone in the Sheffield City Region will benefit from HS2 and NPR for decades to come.


Sheffield City Region HS2 and NPR Strategy for Growth              December 1, 2020

 


CONNECTIVITY

 

HS2 and NPR will transform the way that Sheffield City Region is connected regionally and nationally, with Phase 2b of HS2 bringing Sheffield within:

The completion of the NPR network, in conjunction with HS2, will also reduce journey times from Sheffield across the North, such as:

The current plans for HS2 services for Sheffield Midland station are two classic compatible trains per hour between London Euston and Sheffield via Chesterfield. Provision of a new junction at Clayton alongside an upgraded ‘northern loop’ connection north from Sheffield

Midland, would enable the two HS2 London services to continue north to Leeds and for this route to potentially also be used by Birmingham to Leeds HS2 services, adding a further two HS2 trains into Sheffield, and also helping to deliver the plans for NPR on this corridor.

New mainline stations are planned at Rotherham and Barnsley Dearne Valley on the ‘northern loop’, which would transform their strategic connectivity, reconnecting Rotherham to the intercity rail network and achieving a step-change in accessibility to the labour markets of Leeds and Sheffield, as well as the national network. Initial analysis by Transport for


the North shows how Barnsley Dearne Valley and Rotherham can grow the rail market in South Yorkshire with around 3,500 additional passengers per day at Barnsley Dearne Valley. This will reduce the need for cars to travel into towns and cities and encourage sustainable travel, with approximately 1,000 fewer car trips per day.

The connectivity provided by HS2 at Sheffield Midland station allied to the new stations at Rotherham and Barnsley Dearne Valley is expected to generate an economic benefit to the City Region of just over £1 billion in agglomeration and labour market impacts over a 60 year appraisal period.

Our Integrated Rail Plan sets out proposals to enhance local rail connections that support sustainable economic growth and the plans for decarbonisation. These comprise a mix of service, station and infrastructure improvements, including electrification, that aim to make use of and build on the HS2 and NPR proposals and to spread the benefits of national investment as widely as possible across our City Region. These include plans to extend tram-train services through to Swinton and Doncaster as part of the NPR plans for the Sheffield to Leeds corridor and the renewal of the Supertram network, for which a business case has recently been submitted to Government.

The diagram opposite shows the potential capacity across the existing classic rail network released by the various phases of HS2.

Although decisions about how to utilise this released capacity are some way off, we believe that future services on the Midland Mainline should take advantage of released capacity to consider new and existing markets and destinations that complement our economic growth ambitions, such as Leicester. The fact that HS2 abstracts a large proportion of long distance demand on the East Coast Main Line allows future rail services to be repurposed, providing opportunities for new connections from Doncaster to places such as Cambridge as part of revised service patterns and the strengthening of Doncaster’s gateway role on the East Coast Main Line.


Sheffield City Region HS2 and NPR Strategy for Growth              December 1, 2020

 


PRODUCTIVITY

 

The City Regions of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield together add up to roughly 80% of the population of London, however they produce only 40% of London’s economic output. Poor connectivity between centres of commerce limits the movement of trade and labour – this is a brake on growth regionally and nationally and is unsustainable in the long term.

Productivity, measured as Gross Value Added (GVA) per employee per annum, is expected to rise from £50,000 in 2018 to £78,000 in 2048 within Sheffield City Region. However, these forecasts do not indicate any improvement in our relative productivity performance – GVA per employee is expected to remain £2,000 lower than

the regional average, and the gap with UK productivity levels is forecast to widen from £13,000 to £15,000 per worker per year. Absolute employment growth is forecast to occur at a rate below the UK average.

HS2 and NPR will support delivery of our refreshed Strategic Economic Plan to deliver more productive and inclusive economic growth so that by 2040,

Sheffield City Region could be a £55

billion economy. Both projects will help connect our people to productive jobs, our firms to national and international markets, and our innovators and entrepreneurs to knowledge producers and finance.

A combination of the improved strategic connectivity from HS2, NPR and better local transport can link together a series of key economic centres in the City Region and connect them nationally and internationally to create a Global Innovation Corridor. A package of employment, skills and business support initiatives can help our people and firms access and exploit the job and commercial opportunities that will be created by the interventions such as HS2 and NPR. The projects will bring new jobs within reach of our


residents, but also increase the labour pool for jobs within the City Region as employers gain access to a larger potential workforce. An early start on the projects will help deliver our Renewal Action Plan, which aims to address the short term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic whilst laying strong foundations for a stronger, greener and fairer city region.

Economic modelling indicates that, even allowing for displacement and leakage, HS2 and NPR will stimulate significant economic growth in Sheffield City Region over the next 30 years. An additional 24,000 jobs could be created over the baseline forecasts, contributing a total of £13.6 billion in GVA (discounted to 2018 prices) to our economy under a high growth scenario. In combination, this would result in a significant increase in our productivity.

Jobs arising from development stimulated by HS2 and NPR are likely to be significantly higher in absolute numbers than those arising from their construction, although there will also be a considerable short to medium term opportunity.

The employment benefits will be concentrated in the professional services, financial and insurance and information and communications, but there will be

opportunities across a wide range of sectors, as shown by the diagram opposite. The forecast productivity uplift will apply across all sectors due to the benefits from access to markets and a wider labour pool.

Skills at Level 4 and above will be required for almost half of these roles. Although the skills required will be diverse, digital skills and enhanced leadership and management skills, across all sectors will be important. There is a need to improve the quality of the STEM and wider higher-level skills offer, ensure it is employer-led and responds to the need for higher level and technical skills, and retain STEM and other higher-level skills in Sheffield City Region.


Sheffield City Region HS2 and NPR Strategy for Growth              December 1, 2020

 


OPPORTUNITY

 

Land and property benefits are expected to result across Sheffield City Region as a result of the combination of HS2, NPR and the package of other interventions that are expected to make the City Region a more successful economy in the future. The most tangible impacts are expected to be felt in close proximity to the rail station hubs where occupier demand will be enhanced by the improved connectivity.

Modelling suggests that in the vicinity of Sheffield Midland station, the following increases in development potential could be seen over and above the baseline:

It is the enhanced connectivity of locations which will drive occupier demand which will in turn drive densities, rental and capital values, delivery rates and ultimately, land values, as shown by the diagram opposite.

Whilst Sheffield Midland currently provides a good range of facilities, customers are increasingly demanding more from their travel experience – better comfort, improved facilities and greater choice. Major stations that are unable to meet these expectations will fail as functional hubs.

There are many examples where investment in stations and their surrounding areas, coupled with associated place-making and regeneration, has led to the creation of new city districts. These areas are characterised by high-quality business space and can also attract demand for new housing, creating more sustainable city centre communities.

The area around Sheffield Midland has a large amount of unrealised development potential and there are opportunities to transform this


important gateway to the city centre. The station district must also be remodelled to become an integrated travel hub, making it easier and quicker to adopt public transport, interchange between transport modes and enabling walking and cycling.

The recently published Sheffield Midland Station and Sheaf Valley Development Framework sets out an integrated plan for the long-term regeneration of the station and the surrounding area, covering approximately 65ha of the eastern side of the city. The overall plan

includes the reconfiguration of Supertram and the Inner Ring Road to improve the environment of the station and access to it, along with new and extended platforms within the station footprint.

The framework develops an integrated hub with clear, easy and safe connections between trains, buses, trams, taxis, walking and cycling, ensuring seamless interchange between HS2, NPR and other local public transport services.

The delivery of the Framework is intrinsically linked to the future growth of Sheffield. This means that the outcome will not only be a rail station that is fit

for HS2 and NPR and acts as a gateway to the wider city and City Region, but also the creation of significant development opportunities in the vicinity of the station that will have much wider economic benefits.

The new stations at Rotherham and Barnsley Dearne Valley will also provide significant additional opportunities in the immediate vicinity and surrounding area. Modelling suggests that the two stations could bring forward an additional 30,000 sq m of commercial space and almost 1,000 new homes. Complementary rail connections to the GatewayEast strategic growth hub accelerated by NPR will support almost 1 million sq m of employment space and 3,000 homes, as well as improving public transport access to Doncaster Sheffield Airport, the fastest growing UK passenger airport carrying over 1 million passengers.


Sheffield City Region HS2 and NPR Strategy for Growth              December 1, 2020

 


INCLUSIVITY

 

HS2 and NPR will bring benefits to all parts of our City Region and help improve the quality of life for all of our residents, workers and visitors.

Estimates suggest that the delivery of the HS2 project will require nearly 280,000 job years of employment from two key groups of workers – rail engineers and rail construction workers. Sheffield City Region has a thriving rail sector employing around 3,000 workers, with a number of major businesses recently investing in the city region and

strong levels of interest from inward investors. If we were to secure a share of HS2 jobs roughly equivalent to our current share of rail construction employment, that could mean an additional 2,600 jobs over the next 10 years. Indeed, many City Region businesses are already benefitting from HS2 contracts, such as Liberty Steel in Rotherham making rails.

Planned rail investment makes the UK an attractive location for inward investment and rail businesses are likely to require sites to expand. Between 3,400 and 5,910 people are employed in the rail industry in Doncaster, the higher figure representing 4.2% of total employment in the town, generating around

£898 million of economic output. The town has already seen considerable investment in its rail cluster and the presence of assets including the

National College for High Speed Rail (now renamed the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure).

The College is one part of the response to the changing skills needs within the rail sector (also seen in engineering and construction more generally) – an increasing need for higher level skills, the growing use of digital technology and rise of automation, and a need to appeal to a larger workforce. Our University Technical Colleges, leading engineering


departments at our universities and companies within the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District, will be fundamental to meeting these needs and the enhanced connectivity that major rail interventions will bring are essential in supporting the offer of our key educational and training establishments.

25% of new employment opportunities are within administration and support services (including finance and communications), sectors that traditionally offer routes to employment for a range of skill sets and genders. There is a need to engage and inform the future workforce,

ensuring young people and those who advise them, plus adults who may be interested in a career change, have access to an impartial system which provides up-to-date and engaging information about future work opportunities and the pathways to employment.

There are a number of areas across the City Region where the opportunities that have been identified could have the greatest impact on social cohesion – these are the areas that currently experience “transport poverty”. This is defined as an area of high deprivation where both public transport uptake and car ownership are low

– some 108,000 people currently experience transport poverty and the diagram opposite shows the identified areas of transport poverty across Sheffield City Region.

Spatial analysis indicates clusters of high deprivation and transport poverty are evident in the Dearne Valley – the proposed Barnsley Dearne Valley station provides

an opportunity to transform connectivity here. A similar opportunity is presented with the new mainline station in Rotherham and the raft of local rail infrastructure proposals set out in our Integrated Rail Plan.

The planned investment in rail would also support the tourism and visitor economy, widening access to major cultural and tourism attractions, including the Crucible and Lyceum Theatres and Wentworth Woodhouse, and for sustainable travel choices to the Peak District National Park.


Sheffield City Region HS2 and NPR Strategy for Growth              December 1, 2020

 

HS2 AND NPR IN SHEFFIELD CITY REGION: FACTS & FIGURES

 


     £13.6bn

additional GVA


24,000

more jobs


Journey time reductions

from Sheffield to

 

 

 

 

20


 

 

 

 


1,000 fewer car trips

each day with

new stations at Rotherham and Barnsley Dearne Valley

 

 

25% of new employment in administration and support

services


 

 

2,600

possible additional HS2 construction jobs across the City Region


1,000 more  homes created near to new stations at Rotherham and Barnsley Dearne Valley

 

 

increase in commercial space development opportunity in Sheffield


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority

11 Broad Street West, Sheffield, United Kingdom

S1 2BQ

+44 (0)114 220 3400

enquiries@sheffieldcityregion.org.uk sheffieldcityregion.org.uk

 

Publication Date: December 2020