“Network North”

The one via Goosehill Junction.

 

Yes. Lifted in the late 80’s and abandonment was blamed on a collapsed viaduct near Chevet. Even though BR had spent a fortune upgrading large parts of the line (it was four tracks in some parts) They could’ve easily fixed the issue with a bit more money. It was a much faster route than the others but by that point BR had been overhauled and it would’ve left Intercity responsible for the whole route (sectorisation). With no main station to call at between Sheff and Leeds they would’ve missed revenue from Wakefield, and the costs to repair the land slip were too high, so the main cross country route was shifted to Moorthorpe as they already covered the Doncaster - Leeds stretch.

 

That line went up to Cudworth and on to Leeds one way and th Wath to Sheffield the other way

 

Yes. It split off the line behind what is now an office building/call centre at the end of Manvers way, travelled along Manvers, through Darfield to Cudworth, and then on to Leeds via Normanton.

 

Hs2 brought nothing to Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster except destruction though.

 

https://x.com/richredvoices/status/1709543854779580700?s=46&t=mxyXj_9FSnuzb3YvQp_9ww

This just about sums it all up

 

I never claimed that it did, but there were at least proposals on the Eastern Leg for a new “Dearne Valley Parkway” station near Clayton which would’ve been a benefit to some people of Barnsley - whether travelling further afield or heading into Leeds or Sheffield for work.

This ‘new’ package is just existing schemes that we were already promised bundled under a ‘Network North’ name.

 

If this is the same line? i remember seeing 125’s on this line in the early to mid 80’s possibly on detour? We used to play on the dearne Ings all day at the 5 arches where the line ran through Broomhill, Bolton and then towards mexborough ?

 

Vandalism on a grand scale, even if you ignore the rumours that they'll salt the earth by selling off all the land that has already been bought before anybody can rescue the scheme.

HS2, or something very similar, will be built eventually - there's essentially no alternative. All this does is make it more expensive when we finally get round to it.

Long term decisions indeed...

 

The Dearne Valley Parkway Station was never going to happen, it was merely a sop to keep the political support for Hs2 going.

 

The one to Mexborough was a different line (Barnsley to Doncaster via Stairfoot) and went under the Cudworth route near the junction I mentioned in my previous post. They replaced the bridge it went under with a new concrete one in the early 80’s (I think) and it’s still there now behind the call centre building. It looks more like a canal now though because the rest of the line towards mexborough was infilled.

 

As is most of the spiel in this latest iteration. It’ll slowly get cancelled bit by bit.

 

If something is ever built it may well be more like the alternative plan to Hs2, that was HSUK...their plan was to bring much of the track up north at the side of the M1 as the geology was already known...not only that there would need to be far fewer demolitions saving billions, as an added bonus there was far less ecological damage as ancient woodlands, SSI's etc had been already destroyed when the motorway was built.

 

Was there a spur northward from that canal towards Pontefract?

 

Also this. A form of NPR has been promised for decades, and yet has never been even close to delivered. Partly it's because they don't care, and partly it's because it simply isn't possible with the infrastructure that we currently have. It's ignorance, or lies, or both.

 

That must’ve been discounting Huddersfield due to the proposed LNER service it’s meant to be getting ….. via Leeds! Huddersfield is much bigger than Rotherham if size is determined by Population.

Rotherham might have a slightly higher population than Barnsley, but current rail passenger figures for Rotherham Central are much lower than Barnsley.

21/22 figures show:

Rotherham - 0.342 Million
Barnsley - 1.033 Million

You’d assume there’s more commuter demand into Leeds from Barnsley than there is in Rotherham.

 

The cynic in me tends to agree with that.

 

I lost interest in HS2 as soon as I knew it wasn’t coming to Yorkshire.

We are so far behind compared to our counterparts on the Continent, it’s embarrassing.

In a world where people still need to move around, and use the cars less, we’re seeing schemes cut back.

There should have been an holistic approach - where a HS2 Sheffield terminus was built, and then new high speed connections from there linked up Manchester, Hull and Leeds as well.

People will not consider public transport until it is fit for purpose, reliable and safe.

 

The line to Pontefract is still there and in use today, albeit with very few services each day. It shares the tracks with Sheff-Leeds via Moorthorpe trains. After Moorthorpe the line splits off. The trains to Leeds join the East Coast Mainline and the tracks straight ahead carry on to York via Pontefract Baghill. These aforementioned lines either came off the line that’s still in use or went under it.

 

So the HS2 line has been cancelled because it’s too expensive yet they’ve promised to invest all the same money in new rail/ other transport infrastructure that:
.Has Already been promised in previous Tory Manifestoes, that have been cancelled, promised again and then cancelled again.
. Doesn’t go anywhere near what’s required.
.Decisions made in a room where none of the Northern Mayors were even present or even consulted as to what was proposed. So much for the aspects of promised devolution to the ‘ Northern Powerhouse’
The rail link to Stocksbridge highlights that all they are trying to do is hold onto power/ MPs.
Feking stinks of Tory ******** again. Still many will swallow it as per