Rotherham could get a new station and direct trains running to London within five years

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to build the station as part of a £19.8bn investment package set out in his Network North plan earlier this month.

Critics claim the plan, announced after the northern leg of HS2 was scrapped, lacks key details as it does not state how much money will be provided for the station or when it will be completed.

But Rotherham Council has welcomed the announcement, as it has been drawing up plans for a new station in the Parkgate area of town and it is now looking to buy a site.

The Labour-run council said the project could significantly improve rail connections, allowing people to catch a direct train to London for the first time since the 1980s.

It also said there would be direct services to York and Birmingham, as well as faster services running to Leeds, Sheffield, and Doncaster.

Councillor Chris Read, leader of the council, said: “If we can get moving quickly, we think it could be delivered within four years because it's not technically complicated to do.

“We're talking about potentially 2028 at the earliest. We would need a fair wind to get to that, but we think it is a very deliverable scheme.”

He said it is “a game-changing opportunity” to connect Rotherham to other major cities and a new station could kickstart the redevelopment of the local area as it would attract new businesses and investment.

The town’s existing station, Rotherham Central, is on a branch line and three stopping services call there each hour.

Councillor Read said he now needs “real clarity” from the Government about how much funding will be provided for the station and when it will be made available.

“it's quite easy to put together a list of exciting projects,” he said. “But how you get from the position you're in to being able to deliver all of those, or some of those, is a much more difficult task.

The council is aiming to complete its business case by January, so it can then request the Government funding it needs to build the station.

It comes after Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said Network North was a “back of the fag packet plan” made up of “projects that have already been built, projects that have already been announced and projects that do not exist".

She said examples included extending the Manchester Metrolink line to Manchester Airport, a project which was completed back in 2014.

The National Infrastructure Commission, which provides expert advice to the Government, has also criticised the plan.

In a new report, it said important details, such as the proposed delivery schedule for each project, are missing and the Government needs to set out “a new comprehensive and long-term strategy” for improving railways in the North of England.