Mayor's anger over Sheffield to Manchester rail upgrade delay

The plans mean the rail journey between Sheffield and Manchester will be 10 minutes quicker

An upgrade to the railway line between Sheffield and Manchester designed to improve journey times has been delayed.

Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis has demanded an urgent meeting with the government after news the Hope Valley line would not be upgraded until 2023.

Work to build new passing loops to speed up journey times was due to be completed by 2022.

Network Rail said the contract for the work would be put out to tender in the coming weeks.

The upgrade, which was announced in 2018, will allow passenger trains to pass slow-moving freight wagons, cutting journey times from 50 to 40 minutes.

Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis said the current service was not fit for purpose

Mr Jarvis said he had not been told why there was a delay in starting the work. Mayor's anger over rail upgrade delay

"This is a vital link for people in Sheffield and Manchester - two of the biggest cities in England - yet currently the connectivity is no way near to being good enough and we've got to upgrade the line," he said.

"Every day I get lobbied by people who travel on this line who say the service is not good enough.

"I'm not prepared to sit back and watch the passengers I represent treated like second-class citizens by Network Rail."

Mr Jarvis said he had written to rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris asking for an urgent meeting to discuss the issue.

Network Rail said the contract would be announced in autumn 2020 after approval from the Department for Transport, and construction was due to be finished by 2023.