A LOCAL MP recently hosted an event in Parliament to drive towards an upgrade to the Penistone Line - and she hopes it will increase the frequency of trains running through the village.
The route, which starts at Barnsley Interchange and makes its way through Dodworth, Silkstone Common and Penistone stations on its way to Huddersfield, is already set to benefit from a raft of work.
Labour - in its budget - confirmed the previous Conservative-led government had pledged to upgrade the line but did not properly cost the policy, so it has been included in the Levelling Up Fund.
The line currently faces capacity constraints and reliability issues due to its single-track sections.
Currently, only one train per hour runs and the average journey time is about an hour and 15 minutes from end to end.
Marie Tidball, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, hosted an event in Parliament recently with Colne Valley MP Paul Davies to discuss driving forwards the Penistone Line Upgrade scheme.
The roundtable included voices from across South and West Yorkshire, including Kirklees Council, Sheffield City Council, and Barnsley Council, as well as South Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority and West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
They were also joined by officials from the Department for Transport and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Local MPs along the line Harpreet Uppal MP, for Huddersfield, and Jade Botterill MP, for Ossett and Denby Dale, also attended.
The discussion was focused on what key improvements are needed for the upgrade scheme to deliver, including increasing line speed to cut journey times and improving stations along the line.
The Labour government confirmed £48m funding for the upgrade scheme in the autumn budget last year.
In May this year, the government awarded £1.4m of this funding to Kirklees Council to draw up the business case, which will enable the delivery of the upgrade scheme to move ahead.
Ms Tidball told the Chronicle: “Upgrading the Penistone Line is one of my top priorities as your MP.
“I listen to constituents across our communities who tell me how important the Penistone Line is to reaching work, education, and healthcare and to see family and friends.
“The services are currently unreliable, overcrowded, and overstretched. On the day that the previous Conservative government announced Network North was going to be spent on potholes in London, three out of six services running over a four hour period were cancelled on the Penistone Line.
“It was clear how important this project is to improve connectivity right across South and West Yorkshire.
“I’ll be continuing to work closely with government and local colleagues to ensure this project delivers the urgent improvements our communities deserve.”
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has also backed the plans.
He said: “I’ve repeatedly said that significant investment is needed in our rail network.
“Connecting our communities across Yorkshire and the north is not an optional extra; It’s crucial for us to be able to harness economic opportunities, drive growth and give everyone here chance to stay near and go far.
“Together we can tackle the transport challenges that have held us back, bring in the investment that will amplify our huge ambition, and create more good jobs in the industries of the future, so that we have the world class transport network that Yorkshire deserves.”
