Sheffield Cycle Routes & Resources

Category: Transport Report

  • A Bike Ride from Marsden to Wakefield

    The new Trans-Pennine service from Manchester to York via Wakefield opens up some opportunities for bike-rail. We took the 08:48 Northern service from Sheffield to Wakefield Kirkgate and switched to the train heading or Manchester, whizzing through Huddersfield and arriving in Marsden around 10:00 in heavy drizzle. Our first mistake was to lug our bikes up the bridge and head to the canal only to discover that we could have just gone through a gate from the platform – a little sign might have helped here!

    Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Pic: Gerry Cowley

    The towpath here is unimproved and had some spectacular puddles while some of the cobbled walkways at the locks are steep and slippy. We had the wind and drizzle at our backs though and headed down the many locks (I wasn’t counting) with some speed, collecting plenty of mud on the way. Our caffeine levels were starting to drop though so we called in at the excellent Handmade Bakery for a flat white and a bun, leaving a bit of a mess on the seats! (They didn’t mind)

    From Slaithwaite the towpath is resurfaced, and offers a smooth and mud-free ride to Huddersfield. Some of the inclines down the locks are steeps and the cobbles can be slippy – take care!

    Some of the canal has been drained – with Canal And Rivers Trust funding cut they are struggling to maintain their network – and this leads to some interesting sights:

    A disconsolate heron. pic: Gerry Cowley
    An underwater chair. pic: Gerry Cowley

    A lot of regeneration has gone on around this area mostly to do with the University of Huddersfield. Having been warned of closures on NCN69, due to the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade, by a fellow cyclist on the train (he was off bike-packing in the West Country) we continued on the towpath to Fartown Green where 69 was easy to pick up. However, work around Deighton meant we were diverted up a steep and narrow track (not well signposted) before heading down Cherry Nook and Deighton Road to rejoin the route, which was then pretty straightforward to Mirfield although running alongside the impressive site for the upgrade work .Good to see that the route was being replaced to a high quality where the work has impacted on it. I did wonder. given the big investmwnt thatr is clearly going into rail in this area We enjoyed the spin to Mirfield where we had a good lunch in the Whistling Kettle.

    There is a towpath closure that requires you to ride up to Manchester Road and back down to get back onto the towpath – there was no signage about the diversion from the Canal and Rivers Trust . We met a couple from North Carolina who were making their way up to Marsden on rented electric bikes – I’d love to know how they got on!

    Continuing along the Huddersfield Road for a short while – cars parked in the bike lane as usual – we turned off into Holroyd Park and Ravensthorpe before using a short section of the Spen Valley Greenway. Reaching Huddersfield Rd again we were diverted onto Scout Hill Road and Fall Lane – to be honest I preferred this to the narrow, scruffy and menacing feel of the old NCN route. Let’s hope this is improved once the the TPRU work is completed. It led me to think that if more money is going to be put into Active Travel, maintenance funding has to be included.

    It also led me to wonder why, given this massive investment, there is so much clamour to get started on Northern Powerhouse Rail. Bradford is of course the poor relation when it comes to the Northern Rail network and need better through services but this corridor should be very well served when this work is completed.

    Of course we got a bit lost going through Dewsbury – it’s expected – but made our way via the back routes onto the Ossett Greenway, very scruffy and badly signposted as you leave Dewsbury but improves as you start to climb and the last section is very pleasant with sweeping views across the valley and as far as Emley Moor.

    Ossett is a pleasant town to visit and you complete the ride with a swoop down to Horbury (note: don’t use the signed cycle route – it may be a quieter road but there is a steep climb up to the church in Horbury) Here we joined the “Rhubarb Route” – sadly most of the Rhubarb sculptures that once adorned it have been stolen and not replaced.

    Stolen Rhubarb, pic & finger Gerry Cowley

    Our downhill glide continued underneath the M1 and brought us into Wakefield, where Kirkgate isn’t too hard to find for the train home.

    View this route on strava

  • e-bike consultation: ‘More Watts? – Smarter regulation?’

    Why I support the Govt consultation: ‘Smarter regulation: proposed changes to legislation for electrically assisted pedal cycles’ – by Richard Attwood.

    Richard Attwood, Author

    The Govt has just (29.02.24) launched a consultation , as part of a wider Smarter Regulation Programme, to explore the possibility of an increase in the current legally permissible wattage rating of electric bikes (e-bikes), and also of the manner in which they are propelled by the rider. In this consultation they have set out a clear and to my mind convincing rationale for exploring how more powerful e-bikes can contribute to the pressing need to facilitate more Active travel behaviour, thus improving the nation’s health, reducing transport costs and emissions, cutting congestion and making local areas more attractive places in which to live and work.
    I support this proposal, both in terms of the environmental and societal rationale above, and for the reasons set out below, based on my own experience as an everyday e-bike user.

    There have been some alarmist reactions published in the press, doubtless and understandably driven by recent accounts of incidents involving illegally powerful and fast electrically powered bikes (these are legally classed as Mopeds, not bicycles) and of battery fires associated with poor quality imported batteries and battery chargers being used on these machines. Concerns have also been raised by e-bike users themselves, and by some in the cycle industry, who are rightly wary of any changes that might be used as levers to challenge the legal ‘bicycle’ status of the current e-bikes.
    Whilst understandable, I strongly believe that these concerns are not always founded on a full and clear understanding, either of the capabilities of the current crop of e-bikes, or of the type and degree of difference 500W motors could actually make if permitted. I have attempted to address this below.

    Currently, bone fide electrically assisted bikes can be ridden, by anyone over 14 years of age, in the same manner as a ‘normal’ bicycle, that is on both the highway and on dedicated cycle infrastructure, and without the legal requirement for vehicle registration, insurance, and a helmet. At this point, and for the purposes of this particular discussion, it is worth clarifying the following commonly misunderstood aspects of electric bikes, known as electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) in the UK and EU.

    To meet the legal definition as an EAPCs they:
    ● Must be fitted with pedals that are capable of propelling it.
    ● The electrical assistance must cut-off when the vehicle reaches 15.5mph
    ● The maximum continuous rated power of the electric motor must not exceed 250 Watts(250W)*
    *In terms of power, it is important, in the context of this discussion, to be aware that the current crop of 250W e-bikes produce a wide range of differing power outputs, depending on motor type and sophistication. Some are designed to be legally capable of producing 600W or more, but only for brief periods of intense demand, e.g. when tackling steep hills and/or heavy loads. This is because, in both the UK and Europe, the term “continuous rated power” is key (rather than Peak power) It is defined as “the maximum thirty minutes power at the output shaft of an electric engine as set out in UNECE regulation No 85.”

    E-bikes are currently permitted to offer a ‘Walk assist’ powered mode as an aid when walking the bike around or up ramps etc. This allows for assistance up to just under 4 mph. Beyond that, the motor is only permitted to provide assistance when the rider is pedalling.

    Here in the UK, a legal quirk means e-bikes can already be legally equipped and sold with a so-called ‘Twist and go’ or ‘Throttle only’ option, allowing your e-bike to propel you up to the legal 15.5 mph limit without pedalling, using some form of throttle mechanism (thumb push or twist grip), just as long as it is first type approved as an L1e electric bike in the 250W Low Powered Moped category at an MOT station.

    At least one reputable UK manufacturer has set up this provision and can supply an e-bike set up inthis manner. In this scenario the availability of 500W motors would, as the consultation says, increase the capability and effectiveness of this very egalitarian option in more demanding situations, whilst still keeping within legal and safe limits.

    Adding the electrical and physical components – motor, battery, controller – to make a ‘normal’ bike into an e-bike increases the weight of the bike by no more than 4 to 8 kilos, depending on the system and battery size, however the typically robust build of e-bikes intended for everyday use means they actually weigh around 20 to 25kgs in total, and purpose built ‘Cargo’ models around 30kg.

    As regards weight and deceleration concerns, reputable models have a stated weight limit to suit their capabilities, and modern disc brakes are well up to the job of stopping an e-bike safely, and of course the bike will still only be receiving assistance at 15.5 mph or less.

    The author uses an electrically assisted car-replacing mid-sized load carrying bike as everyday transport in a hilly city. (It’s basically a sturdy Hybrid style bike with a longer and stronger rear rack). This e-bike can legally carry a 65kg load or passenger, and has a maximum total permissible weight limit, including the rider and the bike, of 180Kg. The ability of my e-bike to move all this mass around a hilly city safely and without undue strain on the rider or the machine is down to this particular bike’s sophisticated (and expensive) 250W rated system being designed to briefly produce 600W or more under load.
    As a 95kg rider who makes the most of my bike’s design capacity (e.g. hauling a small car boot’s worth of shopping in the big panniers) I really appreciate this high ‘peak’ wattage capability and the safe acceleration it affords. Those watts enable me to negotiate my place neatly and safely in and around the traffic flow, to the benefit of all road users. For example when I’m pulling away well loaded, on a hill, say from traffic lights, I’m counting on every one of those 600 odd watts to make safe progress, and I would definitely value the increased safety margin a few more watts would afford, and maybe I would even be able to actually reach the maximum assisted 15.5mph on my gradual climb back home from the city!

    My e-bike simply wouldn’t be the car replacement it has become without the high levels of ability described above.

    All this capability is also down to the fact that my particular bike has a purpose built ‘Mid mounted’ motor, which itself requires a purpose built frame to sit the motor in. These particular features however come at very significant financial outlay, putting such as this sort of powerful Mid driven e-bike option beyond the reach of many potential individual users, and doubtless of some of the burgeoning ‘last mile’ type delivery solutions being promoted in people
    busy town centres and urban areas.

    If these proposals are enacted and 500W motors are allowed, users will have a choice of either wheel mounted ‘Hub’ drives or the more budget priced imported Mid drives. It is important to be clear that these options, in particular the Hub drive motors, do not produce equivalent levels of power (wattage) compared to the more sophisticated and expensive European makes. Typically, 500W motors are capable of generating only around 25% more power than a high spec Euro mid drive, and the premium imported 500W Mid drives up to 40% more. They are not twice as powerful, as the bald numbers would suggest and people may be interpreting, they do however offer this moderate increase in hauling power at lower speeds and significantly less cost, and also, crucially in terms of cost, greater adaptability to differing frame designs and functions.

    For context, the number of watts, or the power that the motor of a particular e-bike develops at any given time, translates into the bike’s ability to move itself, the rider and any load. More watts equals more power, and more power, in the context of these proposals means moving loads more efficiently and safely. It does not mean more speed, and it won’t increase the acceleration capability beyond that of the current more high spec e-bikes already legally in use now. It will however offer the rider the ability to move a heavy load off the mark safely, and get up to a reasonable (albeit the current restricted) speed quickly, making for effective and economical delivery times. 

    To use a motoring analogy: The power of 500W motors, as proposed in this consultation, will increase the pulling power you’d expect from a diesel engined family car or van, it will not increase the speed you’d expect from a power increase in a sporty GTi.

    Upping the limit to 500W and permitting throttle control will open up the possibility of a more useful level of assistance being available to a much wider audience, be that the person mentioned in the consultation who, for whatever reason, has difficulty pedalling a bicycle but wishes to avail
    themselves of the health, cost and enjoyment benefits of assisted cycling, or it may be the load lugging industry looking for economically realistic options as they endeavour to produce options to replace heavy and polluting commercial vehicles carrying stuff around in people busy areas. In both these particular instances, having the finesse of throttle control rather than heaving on pedals whilst navigating busy areas will facilitate safer control.

    The consultation includes the question: Do you support or oppose limiting either or both of the proposals to e-cargo bikes?  Personally I would oppose this limitation. I think that it would be impractical and defeat the objective of creating safe, good quality light electric transport options. For example I would not class my own and similar bikes  as ‘Cargo’ bikes per se. Although capable of carrying loads of stuff or a passenger (or two small ones), I chose my  model specifically for its multifunctional character (including riding on rough tracks), whereas mainstream ‘proper’ big, long, or multi wheeled Cargo bikes would not have this range of ability.

    Also, with reference to the Delivery culture, the bikes that are being adopted here aren’t Cargo bikes, they are smaller and less multifunctional,  chosen more for their ruggedness, comfort, simplicity and low cost.

    As regards the concerns about battery safety, size is not the issue. Current mainstream e-bikes have batteries of up to 800Wh or more, some have two fitted! The safety of the current ubiquitous Lithium based batteries is basically dependent on the quality of components and of manufacture, and on using the correct ‘matched’ charger for the system. Battery safety is therefore dependent on the regulation and enforcement of the supply and sale of good quality, affordable batteries and their components, and of good practice when charging, both of which the industry and regulators appear to be waking up to as this sector develops.

    As a point of note, 500W systems are invariably 48 volt, rather than the 250W 36V norm, and 48v batteries offer more capacity for their size, and one of the useful side effects of this proposal is that users will be able to access properly regulated good quality systems with more useful and reliable power legitimately (but with the same
    speed restrictions as at present), rather than relying on dubious imports.

    As an aside, I wonder if this is at some level also a constructive attempt to address the burgeoning electric bike (i.e. Not bona-fide e-bikes) delivery industry by, in effect, offering a legal option to those riders who just wish to make good loaded progress (and income) during their shift without having cycling fitness..…so to basically bring a chunk of this currently rogue carry on ‘into the fold’, where they will be able to access properly regulated good quality systems with more useful and reliable power legitimately (but with the same speed restrictions as now), rather than relying on dubious imports as they do currently.

    So based on my own everyday experience, and on the developing maturity of the market as regards safe components and practices, I believe the availability of 500W motors would, as the consultation suggests, facilitate more widespread and appropriate use of electrically assisted light transport options, with good societal benefit, without compromising safety.

    Finally, for this discussion to remain objective and useful it is essential to avoid any conflation of prospective, legally restricted 500watt motors with those capable of producing 500watts and more
    currently available on the internet. These are invariably associated with illegal, unrestricted systems that are capable of speeds beyond the legally permitted 15.5mph.

    You can make your views known via the consultation until 11:59pm on 25 April 2024.


    Richard Attwood.
    04.03.24.

    PS I’ve yet to hear a similar outcry about the massive and worrying increase in weight and speed of everyday electric cars……..

  • Go Dutch!

    Hook of Holland via Hull on the Rotterdam ferry. (with P+O ferries – no other ferries are available  for this route!)

    Context: 

    We had booked a special exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and wanted to use the Bromptons for a bit of an adventure going over. (We returned on the Eurostar direct from Amsterdam to London). 

    We decided to cycle from Rotterdam Europoort, where the P+O ferry docks, up to Leiden for a night, via the Hook of Holland (the Dutch section of the LF Kustroute/Eurovelo route 12 or North Sea route) and then onwards on day 2 to stay in Haarlem, which we would use as a base, just travelling into Amsterdam on the 15 min train ride for the day. (£10 return) – this made for 2 comfortable 30ish mile days on the Bromptons (esp given the wind, and more wind – not in our favour on this run….)

    Station to Ferry:

    Our journey started in Sheffield around early/mid afternoon, travelling to Hull. Alighting from the train in Hull turn R off the platform and out of the South side of the station and mount up at the Pelican crossing on Anlaby Rd. 

    Follow the 1/2hr, 3.5 mile route to the ferry given on Cyclestreets – https://www.cyclestreets.net/journey/89005767/ – crossing the impressive Drypool bascule (Scherzer rolling lift bridge) bridge over the river Hull, the good cycle path using the old Hull to Barnsley trackbed to pass the amazing Siemens wind turbine blade factory on Alexandra dock, then turning down to terminal 1 of King George dock for the ferry.

    (Historical layout of the docks here – pre King George dock which is to the right of the Alexandra dock.)

    Booking:

    (comprehensive info from P+O re taking bikes on this ferry here )

    We didn’t find a clear way of booking a bike on P+O’s online format, so we booked on as foot passengers and then rang the customer helpline 01304 44 88 88 and booked the bikes. 

    Note – we’ve since come across booking services such as https://www.directferries.co.uk/  which are a few pounds cheaper and purport to offer a bicycle option but we couldn’t get it to work, so I think option 1 above is best.

    On arrival you now have to join the outside car queue, which feels a bit odd….I do wonder if you could equally just roll up at terminal 2 with the foot passengers, and if it was raining that’s maybe what i’d try. 

    (P+O say: “Top tip: bicycles count as vehicles, so make sure you’ve thought of this in advance when making your booking. Remember – only one bicycle is allowed per booking. If you are travelling without a vehicle you must check in via the car lanes, and not as a foot passenger. Cyclists will ride or walk up the ramp with their bicycle to deck 7 and all vehicles will be held until you reach the roof of the terminal and the ramp to the ship. Once you are on deck 7, a marshal will direct you were to go and secure your bicycle.”) Make sure you get to the Port of Hull with plenty of time to spare – check in closes 90 minutes before the ship is scheduled to depart, we recommend arriving plenty of time before this to prevent any hold-ups, as the ferry terminal can get busy.

    It took about ½ hr to shuffle to the check in, so a brolly may be helpful at this point!

    You may be invited into the custom shed for a random check.

    You’ll then cycle up the ramp, and tie your bikes up to a bulkhead just inside the hold door (ropes provided).

    NB We definitely recommend this ‘being a vehicle’ approach, rather than trying to take folding bikes on as a foot passenger, as there isn’t much room to manoeuvre/store a folder onboard!

    Enjoy the cruise down the Humber past Immingham/Grimsby/Cleethorpes/Spurn Pt, and get some beer/jazz/films/shut eye ready for the 7.30 wake up announcement prior to the 9am docking.

    Following the announcement for drivers to go to vehicles, go down and release your steed, and nose up to the hold ramp door ready to be invited to be first off when it opens! – whizz down through the passport hut and customs car port and you are free! 

    You now have various choices re crossing the Nieuwe Waterweg Ship canal northwards to get to the Hook of Holland.(Assuming you want to).

    Between April 1st and October 1st you can cycle west through the Europoort for about an hour and a quarter to catch the little 11am https://www.hoeksveer.nl/EN/ ferry from Maasvlakte over to the Hook of Holland, more or less crossing the mouth of the huge canal as it meets the North sea. It goes from behind the imaginatively named ‘Future Land’ leisure facility and takes about an hour, costing 7.20 euros. It’s an interesting ride through the port and all its docks and ships. We enjoyed this, and it dropped nicely time wise being 2 hrs after docking, and it meant the minimum of cycling overall to get to the Hook.

    NB: Note that it is only 7 days a week in July and August! – study the timetable carefully!

    Out of season, on a day when the hoeksveer isnt’ operating or just by preference, you can cycle a similar distance eastwards parallel to the Canal to the – Rosenburg to Maassluis ferry 

    Or you can keep going towards Rotterdam proper to the cycle tunnel 

    Either way, assuming you want to get to the coast to then go North, you’ll need to then cycle back West a good way to the Hook – probably into the wind!! 

    Alternatively, if you aren’t too fussed about getting to the Hook to then follow the EV12/LF Kustroute along the coast, you can pick out a shorter more direct route to The Hague/Delft/Leiden/Utrecht/Amsterdam etc using the fabulous Fietsroutes  (numbered nodal network) of cycle paths that covers much of the country. 

    We used the brilliantly simple https://routiq.com/app on our phones to plan and follow these routes – just pick a route, note the numbers of the junctions that when chained together form the route you want, and then follow the numbered arrows directing you to each successive numbered  junction! (All in Green)

    To be honest we preferred the shelter and interest to be found dodging around the urban settlements and wooded edgelands of the interior to ploughing along the often featureless coast path……

    Additional side note regarding taking a Brompton on the Eurostar: 

    Well it’s great that you can, however we found the following when boarding in Amsterdam.

    You need to fold and cover your bike as soon as you get to the queue to check in, using whatever ‘wheeled’ additions it has to then move it along. We used proper Brompton covers, but I suspect a large but sturdy bin bag may well suffice, as long as it’s strong enough to withstand being manhandled through the scanner etc.

    Note – the £3 IKEA Dimpa storage bag is a great wheeze  for totally bagging up your Brompton, BUT note that you won’t then be able to ‘wheel’ it along as you can with the open bottom Brompton bag or equivalent. 

    (It is also a fail safe option for UK buses and coaches who can turn open covers away!!)

    A standard Brompton just fitted through the scanner with a bit of malarkey, but I had to remove my extended seatpost (just the extender bit) for it to fit through!

    This suggests any other folder larger than a Brompton will be problematic….

  • Travels in the Basque Country

    New post on our recent trip to Northern Spain 

  • Transport in France

     

     

    I was in France for a couple of weeks before the Integrated Rail Plan was launched, so I thought it might be instructive to have a look at how Public Transport works over the Channel. 

    High Speed Rail

    We spent some time in Arcachon, a seaside small town on the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux, where I noted that if I wanted to I could catch the 05:45 TGV service to Paris and arrive at 08:45, in time for a morning meeting or a day’s work – a distance of 646kms. We were in Bordeaux on Sunday evening and noted 3 trains leaving for Paris at the end of a holiday weekend within 30 minutes, each doubled-up TGV units and full – nearly 1,000 passengers per train. 

    ER train from Arcachon to Bordeaux

    We took the direct TGV from Bordeaux to Brussels, avoiding Paris and changing at Lille for the Eurostar. France is now banning internal flights on many routes because there is no need for this wasteful high-carbon mode of travel.  When we got back to the UK we had the choice of a diesel train taking over 2 hours to cover the 165 miles to Sheffield, or a  cheaper journey on an electric train, changing at Doncaster. Britain’s failure to invest in rail has left us as a backward-facing, parochial laughing stock in Europe (although the people we met were far too polite to say so) and the HS2 debacle risks making matters worse.

    Local transport in Pau

    Pau is a smallish city in the Pyrenees region of France (but not in the mountains themselves) having a city population of about 85,000, and a regional population of 200k – so about half the size of Sheffield. 

    The city centre has a transport problem that is by no means unique to Pau. The station is at the bottom of the valley, with rivers running beside and underneath, and there is a steep climb up to the city centre.  Sound familiar? So what has Pau done about it? Well, there’s a free funicular railway – it carries bikes of course, and is used by .5m people per year.

    Pau Funicular

    Once you are in the City Centre, the jolie free electric Navette bus will get you around.

    Bikes, electric and normal, are very much in evidence including La Poste’s fleet of E-cargo bikes,  – they have at least 5,000 and Project Management types will be interested to learn that they use Lean/Six Sigma to maintain them. Where are the UK Post Office e-bikes?

    Motor traffic is severely limited and the centre is a thriving, very pleasant place to stroll about, find a cafe, bar or restaurant, etc.

    Voie Vertes (Greenways)

    France has embarked on a programme of converting disused railway lines into Greenways. 

    One such runs from Lourdes past Argelès-Gazost to Sonome, where bike paths and quieter roads take you up into the High Pyrenees and the famous cols. The path is surfaced with tarmac and has three types of access control in place:- 

    Bollards
    Short Ovals
    Long Ovals

    All of these seem intended only to slow cyclists down or prepare walkers when there is a road to cross. They wouldn’t keep a motorcyclist out and indeed we saw no motorcyclists on the trail – it doesn’t seem to occur to French motorcyclists to try to use them! We did see La Poste on their e-cargo bikes – great for getting around this mountainous area. 

    Argelès-Gazost

    COVID Precautions

    France has kept some COVID Restrictions in place. Masks are obligatory on Public Transport and you need a Covid passport, showing that you have been vaccinated twice, to enter restaurants, bars, museums etc. Consequently, as over-65s we felt much safer going into these places and using public transport. The rules were generally adhered to but less so in the quieter town we visited where we felt less at risk anyway. Coming back to the UK it feels like the Wild West where people are completely reckless with their health and that of others. All you can do is get your booster jab and hope for the best!

  • Integrated Rail Fail

    So I’ve actually read it, appropriately enough while travelling from Lille to Sheffield via Eurostar/LNER/Northern, I must say that it addresses a lot of the concerns that Greens have had about HS2 – that it has too big a land take, that it doesn’t serve the right places, that the journey time improvements don’t justify the expense, that decarbonising the existing network should be the priority, etc. For the East Midlands, instead of building a new interchange at Toton, it makes use of under-used East Midlands Parkway via a new High-Speed line from Birmingham (So the newspaper headlines that Phase 2b has been “axed” is a little bit inaccurate).

    However, the new line won’t go into Birmingham itself so we will continue to rely on Cross-Country for that journey.  Parkway stations generate motor traffic, so the prospect that the trains will then be able to access Nottingham and Derby has to be a good thing. Arrival at Sheffield will be at the existing station. The report suggests that journey times would be similar to those predicted via a new High Speed  line throughout. There is however a focus on journey times in the report and not much on capacity – if we are to get more freight onto rail we need that extra capacity that HS2 would have brought. 

    The Midland Main Line will be fully electrified – at last! Much is made of the decarbonisation aspects of this. They suggest that HS2 benefits can be brought to the region much more quickly by this option.The electrification stops at Sheffield though. It will be interesting to see whether the local improvements we have been promised come to fruition – Stockbridge, Barrow Hill etc. 

    Doncaster, York etc would continue to be served by the ECML which is also to get some upgrades

    So not too bad for Sheffield & the East Mids then. Not so good for West Yorks. The report says they will “look at” how the line can best be delivered to Leeds.  There was speculation that a high speed line would  be built between Sheffield and Leeds (I think most likely via the Dearne Valley) but I have yet to see that in the report. 

    Leeds is to get, at long last, a mass transit system (the report doesn’t specify whether this will be bus, tram. Metro or something else)

    Northern Powerhouse Rail instead of being a network of high-speed routes across the North, becomes an upgrade to the existing route, which was supposed to happen anyway, and the report suggests that under the previous plan they would have just finished that upgrade and then started building another line. Sheffield would have been connected to NPR that opportunity has been lost. 

    Bradford loses the prospect of a through route under the city, although there was already some controversy over the siting of the station for this. The line from Leeds to Bradford via New Pudsey is to be electrified – I’m not sure what benefits that brings, since the trains using that route continue to Manchester via the Calder Valley and I’ve seen no hint that line is going to be electrified. 

    Manchester & the North-West pretty much get what they were expecting  but the Mayors have been good enough to pile in to support those areas that are losing out.

    So what do the pundits say? Christian Wolmar grudgingly seems to admit that it’s a pretty good plan, but doubts that we can trust Boris to deliver it, with some justification I feel. Paul Salveson thinks that HS2 is fundamentally flawed anyway, mostly for being too London-centric  However, we can blame the Romans for Britain having a London-centric transport system and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. Nevertheless, Northerners are seeing this as another betrayal from a government of serial liars who were never serious about “levelling up.”