Hope Valley line

Hope Valley line
The line at Bamford in the Hope Valley
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerNetwork Rail
Locale
Termini
Stations28
Service
TypeHeavy rail
SystemNational Rail
Operator(s)
Depot(s)Longsight
Rolling stock
History
Opened
  • 6 November 1893 (goods)
  • 1 June 1894 (passengers)
Technical
Number of tracksDouble-track
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification25 kV AC OHLE (Western part), from Manchester Piccadilly to Hazel Grove, Ashburys and Guide Bridge
Operating speed90 mph (140 km/h)

125 mph (201 km/h) (Manchester Piccadilly to Stockport)

40 mph (64 km/h) (Hazel Grove to Edgeley Junction)
Route map

(Click to expand)

The Hope Valley line is a trans-Pennine railway line in Northern England, linking Manchester with Sheffield. It was completed in 1894.

Passenger services on the line are operated by Northern Trains, East Midlands Railway and TransPennine Express, while the quarries around Hope, producing stone and cement, provide a source of freight traffic.

From Sheffield, the line follows the Midland Main Line through the south-west of the city to Dore & Totley, where the Hope Valley line branches off to run through the Totley Tunnel, the fourth-longest tunnel in England. It emerges in the Hope Valley area of Derbyshire, where it passes through the stations of Grindleford, Hathersage, Bamford, Hope and Edale before entering the two-mile-long Cowburn Tunnel. From the western portal of the tunnel, the line runs through Chinley, then splits. The northern branch runs via New Mills Central towards Manchester Piccadilly. The southern branch passes through the Disley Tunnel before merging with the Buxton line and then heading to Stockport to join the West Coast Main Line to Manchester.