MP welcomes £7.5 million to kickstart tram-train extension plans

Dr Marie Tidball MP, Member of Parliament for Penistone and Stocksbridge, has welcomed the Government’s £45 billion announcement to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail. The commitment includes £7.5 million of match funding for the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to kickstart plans to extend the South Yorkshire supertram.

Marie Tidball MP welcomed this announcement in Parliament, following her campaign for an extension of the tram-train to Stocksbridge, via Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side, and Deepcar, since she was elected as MP in 2024.

The Government’s announcement marks the biggest investment in rail connectivity in a generation. For communities across the North of England, it means real change. with modern, electrified lines and ‘turn up and go’ services, linking Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield and York.

Following the announcement, the Transport Secretary made a Statement in Parliament, setting out that Northern Powerhouse Rail “will transform how people travel, [ending] the hour-long waits if people miss their train, [with a railway that will be] faster, more accessible, and more frequent than ever before”. She confirmed that “for northerners who have complained about being treated as second-class citizens, my message is simple: those days are over”.

Following the Transport Secretary’s Statement, Marie Tidball MP told Parliament:

“I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement confirming the biggest investment in rail connectivity in a generation, including £7.5 million for the South Yorkshire mayoral combined authority to kick-start plans to extend the South Yorkshire Supertram, including looking at a tram-train extension to Stocksbridge via Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side and Deepcar in my constituency.”

The local MP asked the Transport Secretary, “Does [she] agree that this tram-train extension will build on the Government’s commitment today to finally give Yorkshire the transport network our communities deserve?”

In response to her question, Heidi Alexander MP, the Transport Secretary, confirmed,

“We are committed to giving everyone in Yorkshire the transport networks they deserve...We want to work with Mayor Oliver Coppard to explore further the potential of tram-train.”

The Transport Secretary also recognised Marie Tidball MP’s ongoing work to champion further transport upgrades across Penistone and Stocksbridge, including the Penistone Line, noting “I know she has been a fearsome advocate for the Penistone Line in her constituency and further engagement is going on with Kirklees council on that issue.”

The Government’s £7.5 million commitment is on top of the £1.5 billion government funding for South Yorkshire’s transport system delivered in the Budget, which will deliver upgrades to local buses and the existing tram network.

Following the exchange, Marie Tidball MP said:

“When I’m knocking on doors across our communities, bringing an extension to the tram-train link from Sheffield to Stocksbridge via Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side and Deepcar, is one of the changes people consistently ask me to deliver for our constituency. I know what an incredible difference this would make to ensure people across our communities can get to work, education, healthcare and meet up with family and friends.

“I’m delighted to see this Government’s absolute commitment to backing our Northern communities, recognising that equal access to transport is the golden thread that allows people to fulfil their potential. The North once kept the nation’s lights on, leading the country as titans of industry and innovation, including through Speciality Steels in Stocksbridge. But for too long, we have been let down by Westminster politicians continuously promising the earth and delivering nothing. Now, our Labour government is putting its money where its mouth is by delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail in full.

“It’s fantastic that as part of this commitment, £7.5 million will go towards kickstarting plans for our extended tram-train link to Stocksbridge. I’ll continue working closely with the government, our South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, and local leaders to give people in our communities the transport networks we’ve been campaigning for and that local people deserve.”