Infrastructure experts share idea for improved rail and road links between Greater Manchester and Sheffield

A group of UK infrastructure experts has set out their ideas for improved rail and road connectivity between Greater Manchester and Sheffield.

The Trans-Pennine Connect project proposes a 14-mile dual carriageway tunnel beneath the Peak District, as well as reopening of the Woodhead rail line, which closed in the 1980s, between Hadfield, near Glossop, and Penistone in South Yorkshire. The project looks to reduce travel time between Manchester and Sheffield to 30 minutes by road, improve rail connections, and help to restore moorland along the route of the A628, the existing road connection across the Peak District.

Despite being Sheffield and Greater Manchester being just 33 miles apart, vehicle traffic between the two cities remains significantly below the levels travelling similar distances to other Northern cities, averaging just 2.9 vehicles a day per 1,000 residents. By comparison, Leeds and Sheffield, 29 miles apart, see 30.3 vehicles a day per 1,000 residents, with this figure at 24.5 for Manchester and Liverpool, 31 miles apart. It is estimated that closing the connectivity gap between Manchester and Sheffield, previously described by the Department for Transport as a “missing link”, could deliver a £6 billion boost to the Northern economy through faster journey times and closer economic ties.

Future Works Infrastructure, the co-founders of which have worked on major projects including the A66 Transpennine upgrade and Sizewell C power station, have worked with local communities and leaders to develop the proposals. They have also looked to similar projects both in the UK and abroad in planning the schemes, highlighting the environmental improvements that have come from rerouting of the A3 in Surrey, as well as methodology used in Norway to reduce costs to under £2 billion, far less than the 2016 estimates by the Department for Transport for a Manchester to Sheffield road tunnel of up to £11.6 billion.

To help finance the project, its proponents suggest collecting tolls on traffic using the proposed tunnel once it opens, as well as securing investment from local government pension funds in the region that currently invest very little into local infrastructure. Proposals also include ensuring the new road remains under the ownership and management of local authorities.

Proposals are currently in the development stage, and do not yet have any backing from government that would be required for plans to be realised. Future Works Infrastructure are now inviting input and comments on their ideas from local people through the project’s website. The organisation will also be holding information sessions along the route to hear more from communities that could be affected.