News: Why Masbrough was sidelined in Rotherham mainline station search
The proposed location for Rotherham Gateway Station is where the mainline and the line carrying the tram train are closest together. It is the innovative tram train, which already links Parkgate, Rotherham town centre, and Sheffield, that is key, and why, without a tram train link, the closed station at Masbrough most likely missed out.
A masterplan has been completed for Rotherham Gateway Station at Parkgate and includes placemaking around the station and the growth opportunity to capitalise on improved rail connectivity. The site is close to Rotherham town centre, Parkgate and the potential housing development at Bassingthorpe Farm, as well as being the "northern anchor" to the Sheffield - Rotherham economic corridor, and within the South Yorkshire Advanced Manufacturing District and Investment Zone.
Simon Moss, Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport at Rotherham Council, updated councillors on the station proposal at a recent meeting. He said: "With the business cases it is really difficult to identify enough benefits - journey time savings, or the number of additional passengers, or wider economic benefits. It is really difficult to make those stack up, even in our biggest urban area, in and around Rotherham town centre, even with that growth. That's why we are really looking at the central area of Rotherham, how it links with the existing infrastructure like the tram train and infrastructure in the wider Sheffield-Rotherham corridor."
The former station at Masbrough, on the edge of Rotherham town centre, closed in 1987 when services on the mainline stopped calling in Rotherham. The potential reopening of the site was also discussed.
Moss said: "There was a significant piece of work that was undertaken at the start, as part of the strategic outline business case, to look at the various options for the siting of the station. Masbrough was one of the options that was looked at. I think, and I can't speak to the decisions around 40 years back, but clearly the tram train changes that context quite significantly compared to back then. The proximity of those pieces of rail infrastructure at Parkgate is making them viable to interact.
"Masbrough is that bit further away from the town centre but without the potential of the convenient connectivity on to the tram train, which is a real asset for the town centre. And Rotherham Central is still going to be an important gateway into the heart of the town centre and Forge Island. That was probably some of the thinking."
For Rotherham Central, which is served by a single track, a connectivity study conculded ten years ago that dualling the Holmes Chord could cost £32m and realigning the main line through Rotherham Central could cost £161.3m.
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Lucy Mitchell, Major Project Officer at Rotherham Council, added: "The decision on the location for the station was something that was taken by Transport for the North [the subregional transport body] when it was part of the Northern Powerhoue Rail programme. They did a really robust piece of work looking at a range of site options, and the benefits and disbenefits of each of those options. We were aware of that work, and on the sort of fringes of it, but it fundamentally wasn't our work, it fed into the strategic outline business case.
"I think, from memory, there is a curved line at Mabrough and it was dismissed for that reason predominantly. I know there are numerous stations that exist on curved lines but for new stations I think that goes against the guidance now for developing a new station so the decision was taken that actually Masbrough wasn't suitable."
It was also discussed that the bridges either side of the Masbrough station site also constrain the ability for longer platforms and impact on any potential electrification of the line.
The Rotherham Rail Connectivity Study of 2015 also stated that Masbrough did not have good accessibility by car, bus, and active modes or would facilitate economic development.
Images: Google Maps
A masterplan has been completed for Rotherham Gateway Station at Parkgate and includes placemaking around the station and the growth opportunity to capitalise on improved rail connectivity. The site is close to Rotherham town centre, Parkgate and the potential housing development at Bassingthorpe Farm, as well as being the "northern anchor" to the Sheffield - Rotherham economic corridor, and within the South Yorkshire Advanced Manufacturing District and Investment Zone.
Simon Moss, Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport at Rotherham Council, updated councillors on the station proposal at a recent meeting. He said: "With the business cases it is really difficult to identify enough benefits - journey time savings, or the number of additional passengers, or wider economic benefits. It is really difficult to make those stack up, even in our biggest urban area, in and around Rotherham town centre, even with that growth. That's why we are really looking at the central area of Rotherham, how it links with the existing infrastructure like the tram train and infrastructure in the wider Sheffield-Rotherham corridor."
The former station at Masbrough, on the edge of Rotherham town centre, closed in 1987 when services on the mainline stopped calling in Rotherham. The potential reopening of the site was also discussed.
Moss said: "There was a significant piece of work that was undertaken at the start, as part of the strategic outline business case, to look at the various options for the siting of the station. Masbrough was one of the options that was looked at. I think, and I can't speak to the decisions around 40 years back, but clearly the tram train changes that context quite significantly compared to back then. The proximity of those pieces of rail infrastructure at Parkgate is making them viable to interact.
"Masbrough is that bit further away from the town centre but without the potential of the convenient connectivity on to the tram train, which is a real asset for the town centre. And Rotherham Central is still going to be an important gateway into the heart of the town centre and Forge Island. That was probably some of the thinking."
For Rotherham Central, which is served by a single track, a connectivity study conculded ten years ago that dualling the Holmes Chord could cost £32m and realigning the main line through Rotherham Central could cost £161.3m.
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Lucy Mitchell, Major Project Officer at Rotherham Council, added: "The decision on the location for the station was something that was taken by Transport for the North [the subregional transport body] when it was part of the Northern Powerhoue Rail programme. They did a really robust piece of work looking at a range of site options, and the benefits and disbenefits of each of those options. We were aware of that work, and on the sort of fringes of it, but it fundamentally wasn't our work, it fed into the strategic outline business case.
"I think, from memory, there is a curved line at Mabrough and it was dismissed for that reason predominantly. I know there are numerous stations that exist on curved lines but for new stations I think that goes against the guidance now for developing a new station so the decision was taken that actually Masbrough wasn't suitable."
It was also discussed that the bridges either side of the Masbrough station site also constrain the ability for longer platforms and impact on any potential electrification of the line.
The Rotherham Rail Connectivity Study of 2015 also stated that Masbrough did not have good accessibility by car, bus, and active modes or would facilitate economic development.
Images: Google Maps
10 comments:
Masborough Station is surrounded by the wrong sort of trees and suffered from too many wrong sort of leaves on the line. It was also too exposed to the wrong sort of snow.
Any place with any ambition would open both.
“ Masbrough is that bit further away from the town centre…”. It’s nearer than the proposed one…
“ It was also discussed that the bridges either side of the Masbrough station site also constrain the ability for longer platforms”. Platforms 1 and 2 extend under and beyond the north bridge on College Road so that’s not an issue.
I understand that it's to do with electrification. There wouldn't be enough of a gap between the platform and the overhead wires going under the bridge.
Thanks for pulling this together, very helpful.
If I've understood correctly, if Parkgate goes ahead, you'll still have to get a connection from the town centre to catch a mainline train.
If that is the case I'm curious to understand what benefits a mainline station at Parkgate likely to bring to Rotherham that the current set up doesn't?
RMBC -wouldn’t know the meaning of ambition
But residents of Rotherham won't necessarily have to get a connection from the town centre by train or tram. A lot of people will just go direct uses buses, private cars, taxis etc. A lot more convenient than having to get to Doncaster or Sheffield.
Good point, we'll made.
Couldn't they lower the track?
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