Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Railway and tram station among South Yorkshire People’s Network plans
Plans for a railway station and tram connections for Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) will be developed as part of the region’s new public transport network, announced by the South Yorkshire Mayor.
A 56-page document detailing the ‘South Yorkshire People’s Network’ suggests rail and trams will make DSA “easier to reach” and “cut traffic and emissions”.
Quizzed for more details by journalists at an earlier briefing, Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “Longer term, the ambition is for train or tram and that’s absolutely what we’re exploring.”
There was no indication, however, for when this would happen. A timeline offered by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) for the ‘People’s Network’ extends into the 2040s, with no reference to train or tram connections to DSA.
Mayor Coppard said it would be “as soon as we can”, when pressed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service on when Doncaster can expect rail and tram links to DSA,
He said: “The airport’s got to thrive and one of the ways you make that airport thrive is you make sure people can get there. It’s as simple as that.
“If people can get there more easily… on a tram or a train, that means the airport can attract more passengers and it’s going to do better.”
It leaves the possibility of a rail or tram link for the airport without a concrete timeline, but the Mayor did say reliable bus connections to DSA would come first.
Mayor Coppard’s announcement of the new transport vision, and the People’s Network, introduced a colourway of “molten orange”, blacks and greys which will soon be seen across the buses, bus stops, trams and e-bikes.
The Mayor said: “Transport isn’t just about getting from A to B. A proper public transport network gives people real freedom and choice about how they travel and move, connects people to opportunity and opens up new horizons.
“But public transport in South Yorkshire has been broken for too long. I promised to make change happen, to give South Yorkshire back the world class public transport system we once had, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
Coppard’s announcement on March 16, 2026, offered no immediate change for transport users across South Yorkshire. The only permanent changes passengers in Doncaster will see in 2026 are refurbished bus stops – to match the new orange branding – and a new South Yorkshire People’s Network website, which will replace Travel South Yorkshire.
Doncaster and Rotherham will be home to a pilot for Demand Responsive Transport system in the Summer of 2026.
Mayor Coppard said: “It means you can get a bus when you need it, so a method of transport, usually a mini-bus which will turn up at your door and take you where you need to go.
“Some people will remember Dial-a-Ride, it’s an updated version of that. I want everybody to have access to public transport across South Yorkshire. No one should be locked in there home or locked away from opportunity.”