Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces electrification of Hope Valley line plans

High Peak MP Robert Largan has welcomed the news from the Prime Minister who announced the Hope Valley Line will be electrified. Photo submit

This comes on top of the £145million capacity upgrade which is already underway and which is expected to double the capacity of the line.

High Peak MP Robert Largan MP has welcomed the development, which will cut journey times between Manchester and Sheffield by nearly 20 per cent and enable an increase in fast trains from two to three per hour.

He said: “This is brilliant news for passengers in New Mills, Chinley, Edale, Hope and Bamford and it’s also great for the whole High Peak, Manchester, Sheffield and the wider region.

“It really shows what we can achieve when we work together. This electrification announcement will help provide a better, more reliable service for residents of the entire region, not just the High Peak.

“I will always rally for more improvements to High Peak’s transport infrastructure and will continue to work with the Government and Derbyshire County Council to get even more funding and improvements to our public transport.

“I’ll continue to push for more money from Government, including for step free access at Chinley station and for a new station for Gamesley, which is sorely needed.”

Electrifying the Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Sheffield will see journey times cut from 51 to 42 minutes, and increasing the number of fast trains on the route.

There have been upgrade works on the Hope Valley Line since 2021 and work is expected to be finished next year.

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “The Hope Valley Railway upgrade is a critical investment to remove several bottlenecks between Manchester and Sheffield, making train journeys better and more reliable for passengers.

“Currently, due to the single-track railway line across parts of the route, passenger journeys are often delayed by slower freight trains along the line.

“We are therefore building new railway track and associated infrastructure to allow the faster passenger trains to overtake the freight trains, thereby speeding up passenger journeys and removing bottlenecks.

“Before more trains can run, further railway improvements are needed in Manchester and Sheffield, as well as timetable changes.”