Network Rail is nearing completion of the Hope Valley Railway Upgrade, but to enable the final stages of the improvements to be put in place, services between Manchester and Sheffield on the line will be disrupted between now and April, mainly over weekends.

Fewer trains will be running with some services replaced by buses or diverted via alternative routes on the following dates:

• from 11 pm Friday, 19th January to 1 am Monday, 22nd January 2024;
• from 11 pm Friday, 26th January to 1 am Monday, 29th January 2024;
• from 11:30 pm Saturday, 3rd February to 1 am Monday, 5th February 2024;
• from 11:30 pm Saturday, 10th February to 1 am Monday, 12th February 2024;
• from 11 pm Friday, 15th March to 5:15 am Monday, 25th March 2024;
• from 11 pm Friday, 26th April to 8 pm Wednesday, 1st May 2024

During these closures, the project team will work mainly at Dore & Totley and Grindleford to complete earthworks, track upgrades and station improvements. Signalling improvements will also be carried out between New Mills Newtown and Manchester Piccadilly.

Anyone intending to travel during this period should check with nationalrail.co.uk before they travel to find out whether there are any changes to their journeys. The work will also affect football fans travelling from Stockport to Nottingham next Saturday, 20th January for the match between Stockport County & Notts County.

Significant progress was made on the upgrade during the Christmas and New Year period when an underbridge in Dore & Totley was extended and a new, an accessible footbridge was built off-site ready for installation later this month. Work at Dore & Totley station to install lifts and a second platform is also nearing completion.

At Bamford, the final pieces of track have been laid to create a passing loop to enable trains to pass slower-moving freight traffic, while a second passing loop is being created at Dore to eliminate a long-standing bottleneck.

Graeme Whitehead, Senior Sponsor for Network Rail said: Over the past two years, the project team have been working hard to deliver significant improvements along the Hope Valley railway line to enable more reliable journeys between Manchester and Sheffield.

It has been exciting to see the advancements made to date and, as we look ahead to the last months of the scheme, we look forward to seeing the benefits realised for passengers.