Direct train services between Sheffield and Manchester Airport could return
Direct services between South Yorkshire and Manchester Airport could return as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail, senior officials have said.
The route between Sheffield and the airport was axed in 2021, with travellers now having to change at Manchester Piccadilly.
However, a direct line from the Steel City to the North’s largest airport is being considered as part of the project, Department for Transport officials have revealed.
Senior civil servants gave evidence about the long-awaited rail network designed to connect cities on both sides of the Pennines earlier in the year.
In January, the then-chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the latest version of this decades-long project, which will see £45bn of Treasury money spent on a “turn up and go” railway across the North that mirrors London’s transport network.
By the 2040s, she pledged there would be a new line from Liverpool to Manchester and into West and South Yorkshire, with simpler upgrades across the region being completed in the early 2030s.
Sheffield South East MP Clive Betts stressed the importance of connecting South Yorkshire with Manchester Airport.
“We used to have a link between the east of the Pennines - Doncaster, Sheffield, Rotherham - to Manchester Airport,” he explained.
“It doesn’t exist anymore so we’ve actually gone backwards in the last few years in terms of connectivity.
“Manchester Airport is the major airport in the North of England, it’s absolutely key for growth, we all get that.
“Connectivity to that is really important for whole areas of the North.”
Nick Bisson, director of Northern Powerhouse Rail since 2018, assured Mr Betts that a direct route from Sheffield to Manchester Airport was being considered.
“The precise service map is to be confirmed in the light of the development work that is to be done, but the possibility of direct services between Sheffield and the airport is something we’re looking at as part of that,” he said.
He explained that in the third phase of NPR work will be carried out on the Hope Valley line between Manchester and Sheffield.
“We are yet to conclude the work with Network Rail whether some or all of those trains continue straight onto the airport,” Mr Bisson added.
“But that is definitely within the range of options that we’ll be looking at because we recognise the importance of economic connections there.”
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard is hoping that Sheffield will get a third fast train every hour to Manchester as part of the first phase of NPR, which will be completed in the 2030s.
“Northern Powerhouse Rail has the potential to be really significant in unlocking the investment we need to create better connectivity between the two,” he said.
“We’ve put ourselves at the front of the queue for that investment. We’re pushing for a third fast train between Sheffield and Manchester as part of phase one of NPR.
“That is going to rely on improvements at Sheffield Midland and Piccadilly stations, so we’re already pushing for those and then transport connectivity to Manchester Airport, which has been disrupted in recent years.
“It’s something as mayor I’ve been really keen to see resolved, but that also requires upgrades at Manchester Piccadilly.”