Woodhead tunnels to be closed for good

Years of campaigning by local businesses and rail enthusiasts in Yorkshire have ended in failure after Transport Minister Stephen Hammond said the Government would allow the tunnels to be sealed permanently.

The old Woodhead tunnels formed a crucial section of the old Woodhead Line – the most direct route between Sheffield and Manchester from the mid 19th-century. A new tunnel was constructed in the 1950s, but the line was finally closed in 1981 – leaving the two cities linked only by the circuitous Hope Valley line.

Campaigners have been calling for power cables to be moved out of the modern tunnel into the older Victorian ones, so allowing the newer tunnel purchased back from the National Grid for use for rail traffic.

But Mr Hammond said the Government was already investing in other trans-Pennine rail routes via the much-heralded ‘Northern Hub’ package of improvements, and that reopening the Woodhead line was not necessary.

“A study recently carried out by Network Rail indicates that demand for travel between Manchester and Sheffield could more than double in 30 years,” he said. “With the planned investment, the Hope valley line and its trains could accommodate this growth.

“The Victorian tunnels are not in a good condition and would require ongoing funding to keep them in a condition necessary for possible reuse. These costs would fall on the taxpayer or mean less money for other vital rail investment in the North.”

But local rail campaigner Paul Salveson said the decision was a “huge missed opportunity” for the whole of the north of England.

“Neither the Northern Hub nor the relatively modest improvements on the Hope Valley Line are enough in terms of meeting long-term growth,” he said.

“A re-opened Woodhead Line has potential to form part of a land bridge between the Mersey and the Humber for both freight and passenger services.”

Labour MP Angela Smith, who represents Penistone and Stocksbridge, said she was “very disappointed” at the decision and would now press for a wide-ranging review of the economic case for better transport links between Manchester and Sheffield.

“We must look at the case for a new road and rail tunnel,” she said. “We currently have two of the biggest cities in England linked by a mountain pass and a slow rail line – it just does not work.

“If we’re serious about economic growth in the North then the case must be looked at again.”

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