Stocksbridge tram train: Chancellor comments on Sheffield tram train plans after Commons question
Plans to bring the tram train from Sheffield to Stocksbridge have been outlined to Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Marie Tidball, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, told the Chancellor about the ‘vital need’ to extend the Sheffield tram train network from Sheffield, to connect-up Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side, Deepcar and Stocksbridge.
The MP said there are currently limited transport links between the rural communities and Sheffield city centre, including no tram-train, no operational train service, as well as insufficient bus services. A recent Transport for the North report makes clear that poor connections are a crucial barrier to employment, housing, services and growth.
In raising this issue with the Chancellor, Marie Tidball MP, said: “There is currently no tram train network from central Sheffield to Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side, Deepcar or Stocksbridge, nor an operational train service to these areas.
“My constituents want to see the Sheffield tram network extended to Stocksbridge, to connect these rural communities, with jobs, education and hospitals, as well as supporting the advanced manufacturing district and steel plant in Stocksbridge.”
In response, Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “I thank my Honourable Friend for that question. The Chief Secretary is working closely with Mayors, including Oliver Coppard, to understand their priorities for the places they represent at the Spending Review in June, and will continue that work.”
Following the exchange, Marie Tidball MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said she wanted to extend the tram-train to Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side, Deepcar and Stocksbridge.
She said: “An extended tram-train would ensure people across our communities have a properly integrated public transport network, that links up to national rail and bus services in the centre of Sheffield.
“After 14 years of underinvestment in our Northern Transport, I am so glad to be working with Government, and our excellent South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard, who really understand the difference having proper public transport makes to people’s lives.”
Councillor Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “We are working hard on plans to extend our tram network with more tram-train services. A new line to Stocksbridge is a key part of our plans. Oliver Coppard, Marie Tidball and I are working closely to ensure more communities benefit from high-quality public transport.”
The Government committed £1.3 billion to upgrade the existing Sheffield supertram network in the Budget last year. The South Yorkshire Combined Authority has brought the tram network into public ownership, to ensure the investment directly benefits passengers, and so that a private operator cannot profit from busy services and claim tax-payer subsidies to cover losses.
SYMCA has also recently announced they will start taking back control of all bus services in 2027, by bringing them back into public ownership, in a better deal for taxpayers and to make improvements to local services.
The extension to the tram train network would include stops at Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side, Deepcar, and Stocksbridge, stopping at Sheffield Victoria.