Improving the speed, reliability and frequency of Penistone's railway line
Investing in local transport is one of my key priorities, so I am pleased to announce that the bid to upgrade the Penistone Line has now been submitted to the Government's Levelling Up Fund. I co-sponsored this £47 million bid with my colleague Mark Eastwood, the MP for Dewsbury in West Yorkshire.
This bid offers a fantastic opportunity to invest in a key local public transport link that is currently not meeting the needs of local people and businesses.
The Penistone Line is a key connection between South and West Yorkshire, linking major towns and cities such as Sheffield, Barnsley, and Huddersfield. But it also serves smaller communities in our constituency like Penistone, Silkstone Common, and Dodworth. I was therefore pleased to use my question to the Department for Transport on June 24 to ask for more investment in secondary commuter lines in the north. This funding is essential if we are to see the same benefits in our city regions that other parts of the country already enjoy.
Question to the Minister of State, Department for Transport
The Penistone line in my constituency connects major Yorkshire towns and cities such as Sheffield, Barnsley and Huddersfield, as well as serving smaller communities such as Penistone and Dodworth, but with only one train per hour in each direction, it does not meet the needs of local people or businesses. I have just submitted a bid to the levelling-up fund, with my hon. Friend the Member for Dewsbury (Mark Eastwood), to upgrade the Penistone line and improve the service, but does the Minister agree that we must invest in these secondary commuter lines in the north if we are to see the same benefits in our city regions that other parts of the country already enjoy?
One train per hour between Sheffield and Huddersfield is simply not good enough to help people make the shift from car to train, and the lack of a convenient and reliable service is holding our communities back. Better transport links means more opportunities to level up the economic and social life of our towns and villages, so we need this sort of investment in our local commuter routes like the Penistone Line.
Our bid proposes to invest in the infrastructure and signalling along the line to improve speed and reliability, as well as to allow for the introduction of a second train per hour in each direction.
Better connections to hubs such as Sheffield and Huddersfield will help local people and businesses to access the wider rail network, opening up new opportunities for work, training, and investment in our area. Without a properly integrated rail network that serves local communities as well as big cities, South Yorkshire will not be able to match the levels of economic development of other similar city regions.
£7million of funding is also allocated to create 'Mobility Hubs' at all the local stations between Barnsley and Huddersfield, including Dodworth, Silkstone Common, and Penistone. This would mean better integration of rail, bus, and active travel, as well as upgrades to facilities such as live information boards and improved access to stations. Making it easier for people to move to public transport means enabling a convenient and simple journey from door-to-door, not just for some of the way.
I have worked with Barnsley Council and Kirklees Council, as well as the Sheffield City Region, to make this bid as strong as possible and to ensure it achieves the important aim of levelling up our communities. This is a great chance to improve public transport links along the route, and to bring the sort of benefits to our towns and villages that are already enjoyed in other city regions across the UK.
Upgrading the Penistone Line is just one part of my wider plan for better public transport across the constituency. From securing better rural bus services, to bidding to bringing back passenger rail services between Stocksbridge and Sheffield, I am working to secure the investment we need to boost connectivity in our communities.
