Throughout November, services between Manchester and Sheffield on the Hope Valley Line will be subject to disruption at weekends as engineers carry out work on the multi-million-pound Hope Valley Route Upgrade.
Work is scheduled to take between Bamford and Hathersage and at Dore & Totley, which means that there will be no trains between Edale and Sheffield on Sunday, 13th and Sunday, 20th November. To enable passengers to continue to travel, where possible services will use alternatives routes although they will entail longer journeys.
Trains between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield will start and terminate at Edale. Rail-replacement buses will operate between Sheffield and Chinley, whilst a minibus will operate between Edale and Hope due to the narrow roads. Passengers should check with National Rail Enquiries before travelling.
The following work is being undertaken during this part of the Hope Valley Route Upgrade:
A passing loop will be installed between Bamford and Hathersage stations that will allow faster trains to pass slower trains.
At Dore & Totley, a railway underbridge will be extended in preparations for adding a second line through the station. The work will include excavation work, laying new ballast, tamping under the rail track. Freight trains and other rail machinery will be working in the in the area in connection with the work.
The car park at Dore & Totley station will be closed from 6am Friday, 4 th to 12pm Friday, 25th November to allow vital building materials to be delivered,. Signs at the stations will advise passengers where alternative parking is available.
Local businesses, Hair Union, Rajdhani restaurant and the Summerhouse restaurant will remain open and accessible
As well as the closure on 13th and 20th November, work is scheduled to take place in both areas during the following times and dates:
- From 11pm Saturday, 5th to 6am, Sunday, 6th November.
- From 11pm Saturday, 12th to 6am Monday, 14th November.
- From 11pm Saturday, 19th to 6am Monday, 21st November.
- Saturday nights from 11pm Saturday, 26th November to 6am Sunday,18th December.
The overall Hope Valley Railway Upgrade aims to make train journeys between Manchester and Sheffield better and more reliable by removing several bottlenecks. Major improvements of the upgrade include:
- Installing a new platform and accessible footbridge with lifts at Dore & Totley station;
- Constructing a railway loop between Bamford and Hathersage;
- Replacing the foot crossing at Hathersage West with an overbridge to improve safety;
- Signalling improvements along the line to improve reliability;
- Lengthening station platforms to allow the operation of longer trains.
Hannah Lomas, Principal Programme Sponsor at Network Rail, said: “The next phase of construction work has started on the Hope Valley line, continuing the essential upgrade to make Dore & Totley station more accessible and train services between Manchester and Sheffield more reliable for passengers.
Putting back the 2nd platform at Dore & Totley is a very welcome improvement but illustrates the folly of removing it in a previous “rationalisation”. Even if at that time it wasn’t needed, why was it demolished and the space it occupied just left vacant?
Having been taken to Dore & Totley by my father for the purposes of train spotting some 50 years ago, but not having been back since, I was astonished to see only a single track – the second track and middle platform gone, along with the over bridge. Now full cycle as they rebuild it all…..
Yes, the crazy thing is that most of the Hope Valley line remains as double track, so the single line at Dore is just an awkward bottleneck.