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The Woodhead Tunnel - who has
won?
 And in the Glossop Chronicle (20 March 08) under the headline 'Not the end of the line', David Jones says: A GOVERNMENT
minister has signalled the green light for trains to again run through
Woodhead Tunnel.
Re-opening the link under the Pennines seemed a non-starter when the National Grid announced plans to string power lines through it. But in a House of Commons debate, Transport Secretary Rosie Winterton hinted that trains could be on track sometime in the future.
What the Minister actually said was: No government or
rail industry strategy or planning document has identified a need for
additional rail capacity across the Pennines that would require the
reopening of the Woodhead route.
The demand for additional passenger capacity, she said, should be met by "longer trains". In fact the Minister's decision is a complete victory for National Grid, who have already started work on moving the cables into the 1953 tunnel. National Grid itself says: The new cables
are being installed in the 1953 tunnel, via the entrance at Dunford
Bridge, by the Electricity
Alliance - East on behalf of National Grid.
Save the Woodhead Tunnel says "Woodhead tunnel 'victory' is wishful thinking" - details here.
Work began in February 2008 and will take approximately two years to complete. |
     Rosie Winterton,
Minister for Transport
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 Woodhead Tunnel - the works (National Grid) |
 Work has begun at Dunford Bridge (Tameside Citizen) |
 Angela Smith,
Labour MP for Sheffield Hillsborough, initiated an adjournment debate
on the Woodhead Rail Route on 11 March 2008. The Hansard account of the
debate is here.What the Minister of State for Transport, Ms Rosie Winterton, actually said in the adjournment debate was, according to Hansard: "I
should like to reassure hon. Members that National Grid's plans will
not jeopardise the possibility that the Woodhead tunnel route will
reopen to rail traffic at some future date. As my hon. Friend the
Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough outlined, National Grid owns the two
Victorian tunnels and the more modern tunnel that was purchased from
the British Rail Property Board in the early 1990s following the
closure of the route in 1981. The company holds permitted development
rights for placing cables in the newer tunnel. The cost to National
Grid of replacing cables in the Victorian tunnels and of not using the
more modern tunnels would be substantially higher than putting cables
in the more modern tunnels and moving them back into the Victorian
tunnels in future, as my hon. Friend mentioned. Replacing cables in the
Victorian tunnels would require the transmission of electricity between
the efficient power stations to the east of the Pennines and Manchester
and the north-west to be suspended while the work was carried out. Less
efficient power stations elsewhere would have to provide electricity,
and that would be considerably more expensive—tens of
millions of
pounds according to National Grid."Those outage charges would not be incurred if new cables were laid while the older ones were still transmitting; consequently, the charges would not be incurred if the process was reversed and new cables were put back into the Victorian tunnels while the cables in the more modern tunnels were still transmitting electricity. Reversing the process remains a possibility if growth in demand requires a fourth rail route across the Pennines. "My hon. Friend made a powerful speech, but I am sure that she realises that no Government or rail industry strategy or planning document has identified a need for additional rail capacity across the Pennines that would require the reopening of the Woodhead route. The Government’s strategy for the railways is set out in the White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, which identified the need for additional passenger capacity, and proposed that it should be met by longer trains to accompany reduced journey time on the Manchester-Leeds route via Huddersfield. On the south trans-Pennine route between Sheffield and Manchester, the East Midlands Trains franchise will deliver longer trains on the route between Liverpool and Nottingham via Sheffield."  Tom
Levitt:
"My right hon. Friend has moved on from the tunnel itself, but I remind
her that the question is whose responsibility it is to maintain the
Victorian tunnels so that there is a tunnel to move back into."Ms Winterton: "I am coming to that point. "Neither the White Paper nor the Yorkshire and Humber regional planning assessment identified a long-term need for substantial increases in freight capacity across the Pennines. Consequently, it has not been suggested that the Woodhead route was needed for the purpose. "Network Rail published its freight route utilisation strategy in 2007. The only trans-Pennine issue that it identified was a possible need for additional capacity on the south trans-Pennine route through the Hope valley between Sheffield and Manchester. Again, that strategy did not identify a need for a new trans-Pennine route for freight. Network Rail's Yorkshire and Humber route utilisation strategy is work in progress. Network Rail is also considering capacity needs on the three rail routes across the Pennines - the Hope valley line, the Manchester-Leeds route via Huddersfield, and the Calder valley line via Halifax. "I am aware of the Northern Way study, The Market Demand for Gauge Enhancements, but it does not refer specifically to the need for a new route across the Pennines or the reopening of the Woodhead route as the best way of achieving it. However, I am aware, as are other hon. Members, of previous expressions of interest from the private sector in using the Woodhead route. The Government set out their approach for developing a longer-term strategy in the document entitled Towards a Sustainable Transport System. At its heart is a process of engagement with stakeholders - that has already begun - on the goals and challenges for transport. Should robust evidence be produced that one of the key challenges is meeting significant growth for movements across the Pennines, the next stage will be to consider options across all transport modes that could meet the challenges identified. "As far as rail options are concerned, capacity enhancements on the three existing routes would be considered first. However, if an analysis of capacity on those routes concludes that the option of an additional route ought to be investigated, the Woodhead route for rail use can still be considered. The time to consider whether or not the Victorian tunnels need to be protected from long-term deterioration, so that they could be used again for rail or cable, is when the long-term capacity analysis has been completed but before National Grid finally seals the tunnels after the removal of the life-expired cables. That is expected to be in 2010 or 2011. At that time, a decision can be made on whether the Victorian tunnels should be sealed in a way that allows the process of inspection and maintenance to continue, should it prove necessary. Meanwhile, National Grid will continue to carry out regular inspections of the tunnels. "Following the meeting between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and many of the Members in Westminster Hall today - led by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough - and following the letter that the Secretary of State subsequently wrote to my hon. Friend, I propose to meet National Grid in the next few weeks to confirm that the Government wish to explore further the option of continuing the inspection and maintenance regime for the Victorian tunnels once National Grid has vacated them. "We will need to confirm the date by which a decision has to be made. As I said, that is expected to be in 2010 or 2011. By that point, much of the evidence gathered under the Towards a Sustainable Transport System process will be available, which will enable us to make the right decision. Following that meeting, I would like to meet key stakeholders. I want to discover the transport industry's view and the northern economic perspectives on the challenges that face freight transport across the Pennines, and how that will tie in with the development of a longer-term strategy - in particular, the process of engagement with stakeholders on the goals and challenges for transport, which has already begun. "I want to build on that. I will encourage stakeholders to produce robust evidence on the expected growth in demand for passenger and freight movements across the Pennines. Should a significant challenge be identified, the next stage is to consider options for meeting those challenges through all transport modes. As far as the rail options are concerned, as I mentioned earlier, it will doubtless include capacity enhancements on the three existing routes as well as the reopening of the Woodhead route. The outcome of that work will provide us with the evidence needed to take a view on the long-term strategy for trans-Pennine transport links. "In conclusion, I reinforce the view that nothing should be done to jeopardise the economic future of the north of England, and I emphasise that National Grid's proposals will not do so. During the period 2009-14, the Government plan to spend £15 billion on the rail network, supporting a network of services in the north of England and elsewhere, improving performance and reliability, increasing capacity by providing 1,300 new carriages, and making better use of the existing network. I hope that my response to the points raised during the debate reassures hon. Members that the steps that I propose will keep open the option of using the Woodhead route in the long term." |
In December 2007 Graham Stringer,
Labour MP for Manchester Blackley, tabled Early Day Motion number 459,
saying:"That
this House believes that, at a time when the Government Rail White
Paper endorses the strategic freight network and forecasts rail usage
doubling over 30 years, National Grid's proposal to embark upon a
cabling project through the Woodhead Tunnel between Manchester and
Sheffield would mean an irrevocable loss of rail capacity; and
therefore calls upon the Government to investigate and intervene on
this issue as a matter of urgency to prevent this strategic rail route
being lost forever."
The motion has been signed by 77 MPs. In January 2008 Michael Clapham,
Labour MP for Barnsley West and Penistone, tabled Early Day Motion
number 779,
saying:"That
this House is concerned that the National Grid company plans to
relocate its five kilometre high voltage cable from the old Woodhead
tunnel to the newer one built in the 1950s which will impact
detrimentally on proposals for a strategic transpennine freight line
linking the economies of the East and West Pennines; and asks that the
Secretary of State for Transport to urge the National Grid company to
consider the alternative option of repairing the old tunnel to locate
the cable."
The motion has been signed by 29 MPs. |
Petition to the Prime Minister to reopen the Woodhead railway line - 1,270 signatures Northern Way calls on Government to ensure potential rescue of Woodhead Tunnels for rail - 8 January 08 Angela Smith's adjournment debate on the Woodhead Rail Route - Hansard, 11 March 08 Campaigners claim victory over Woodhead Tunnel - Tom Levitt MP, 12 March 08 Tunnel vision reaps rewards - Glossop Advertiser, 19 March 08 Woodhead Tunnel decision delayed - Manchester Evening News, 19 March 08 Not the end of the line - Glossop Chronicle, 20 March 08
Woodhead Tunnel: Cable Replacement Project - About the Woodhead Tunnel Woodhead Tunnel: Cable Replacement Project - The Challenge Woodhead Tunnel: Cable Replacement Project - Your questions answered Woodhead Tunnel: Cable Replacement Project - Keeping you informed |
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