Rotherham: New mainline railway station may cost up to £100m

The Rotherham Gateway Station, which will feature both Mainline and Tram Train services, is proposed for the Parkgate area and will reintroduce mainline train services to the town for the first time since the 1980s.

Early cost estimates currently stand at the £100m mark for the project.

During a meeting of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council’s improving places select commission yesterday (February 11), Lucy Mitchell, the council’s Regeneration Manager, gave the figure, but cautioned that it is still indicative.

“We’re in the order for £100 million for the station, and then the tram train on top of that,” she told the meeting.

“That is purely a reflection of where we are in the project at this point in time.”

Ms Mitchell added that the full business case will ‘delve much deeper’ into the costs, so the council can ‘really start to understand what the real costs are’.

“Don’t be too horrified by the number, it should be pulled back significantly,” she added.

“We’ve done some benchmarking of stations that have been built in other areas….and the costs are not anywhere close to that. Some stations have been built more to the order of 35, 40 million. Take this big number with a very big pinch of salt”

The new station is expected to significantly reduce travel times, with journeys to Leeds becoming 30 minutes faster, to York 35 minutes faster, and to Birmingham 40 minutes faster. The development will also include a multi-purpose building, combining station facilities with a business centre, making it a hub for both commuters and local businesses.

Improvements to walking and cycling routes will further enhance the station’s accessibility, connecting it to Rotherham town centre via Effingham Street, making it easier for people to reach the station on foot or by bike.

Councillor Robert Taylor, cabinet member for transport, jobs and the local economy, said that the rail connection to Rotherham has been “quite frankly, awful” for the last 40 years.

“We need to address this if we have any serious aspirations for growth and prosperity across the borough,” he added.

“The gateway project will provide a new mainline station and a whole host of other transport and economic growth solutions.

“It’s a serious undertaking and there are literally dozens of hurdles that we need to overcome before even a single spade is put in the ground. We are determined it will happen and we have the support of the regional mayor and government to realise this project.

However, questions have been raised about the choice of location.

Councillor Ian Jones voiced concerns over the decision to build the station at Parkgate rather than Masbrough, which he believes has the potential to better support future growth. “Masbrough had the ability and still does to accept high-speed rail… it seemed to be a more prime site,” Jones argued. He questioned whether moving the station further from the town centre would truly help regenerate the area.

“What proof have we got that it’s going to help regenerate the town centre, rather than just moving the town centre to Parkgate?” Asked Coun Jones.

Simon Moss, assistant director for planning, regeneration, and transport at RMBC, responded by highlighting the potential advantages of the Parkgate location, including its connectivity to the tram-train network.

Lucy Mitchell added that the station at Masbrough had previously been dismissed during a scoping exercise for the Northern Powerhouse project as it had a curved rail, and new stations were required to have a straight rail.

Nat Porter, service manager for transport planning and policy added that the station was also deemed not to be suitable due to the ‘considerable expense’ that would be incurred for future electrification of the rail network.

The Outline Business Case (OBC) for the Rotherham Gateway Station project has been completed and is set for submission to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and the Department for Transport (DfT).

Following a review of the draft in December 2024 and final approval in January 2025, the completed business case will be formally submitted on February 14, 2025.

The next stage of the project, which includes detailed design and the preparation of the full business case, is estimated to cost £11.35 million.

The funding is expected to come from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement program.