25-672: Bradway Tunnel , 1 mile 266 yards (1.853 km) long, was built in 1870 about 1-mile (1.6 km) north of Dronfield, Derbyshire , in South Yorkshire , England . It is at the summit of the Midland Main Line between Chesterfield and Sheffield , on what is known to railwaymen as the "New Road" built by the Midland Railway to serve Sheffield, which was bypassed by the North Midland Railway 's "Old Road" due to
50-539: A combination of declining passenger numbers as a result of the chaotic May 2018 timetable change and increasing compensation claims as a result of falling punctuality. In June 2019, the DfT's operator of last resort, DfT OLR Holdings, conducted due diligence into the franchise believing the both operational and financial performance to be "unsustainable". In October 2019, the Secretary of State for Transport , Grant Shapps , issued
75-456: A dispute over pay and working conditions. Northern urged the travelling public to avoid travelling on its services on any of the planned dates for the strikes, being only capable of operating a minimal timetable due to the number of staff involved. Northern took over all the services operated by Arriva Rail North on 1 March 2020. Below is a simplified list of frequent Monday to Saturday off-peak services, as of December 2023 timetables. Due to
100-473: A parliamentary train on the Stockport–Stalybridge line between Stockport and Stalybridge calling at Reddish South , Denton , and Guide Bridge . From 1992 until 2018, this service ran once weekly. Multiple campaigns were conducted to request increase in services to the line, but in 2022, Transport for Greater Manchester published two surveys in relation to the line. As of May 2023, there
125-545: A request for proposals to incumbent operator Arriva and the operator of last resort, which would result in termination of the franchise with either Arriva to be awarded a short-term management contract or the operator of last resort to take over. In January 2020, Shapps publicly criticised Arriva's operation of the Northern franchise and suggested that the Government may step in to revoke its franchise agreement, bluntly referring to
150-471: A tender to acquire a contract for up to 450 new trains to replace the older rolling stock in their fleet. In 2024 Northern issued a tender for up to 329 new trains. The 329 trains are made up of 45 three coach electric multiple units, 16 four coach electric multiple units, 108 three coach multiple mode units, 128 four coach multiple mode units and 32 four coach battery electric multiple units. Former train types operated by Northern include: services across
175-652: Is a British train operating company owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT), after the previous operator Arriva Rail North had its franchise terminated at the end of February 2020. The company commenced operating the Northern franchise on 1 March 2020, taking over from Arriva Rail North. The prior operator had its franchise terminated early by the DfT in January 2020 amid widespread dissatisfaction over its performance, particularly in respect of poorly implemented timetable changes. The DfT had opted to hand
200-501: Is one train per day between Sheffield and Cleethorpes , via Gainsborough Central and Brigg . This service runs on weekdays only. The service was suspended between January and October 2022 due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between October 1993 and May 2023, this service ran on Saturdays only, but had three trains each way and on weekdays, a few peak services terminated at Gainsborough Central . Northern took over all of
225-556: The COVID-19 pandemic . Northern is also being affected by the 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes , the largest national rail strikes in the UK in three decades. In December 2015, the Department for Transport (DfT) awarded Arriva a contract to operate the Northern franchise as Arriva Rail North . It commenced in April 2016 and was originally scheduled to run until March 2025. Within two years,
250-513: The " up " platform. The smaller building on the other platform contained a waiting room and a ladies' waiting room. To the south of the passenger station, on the land now used as a car park, was the goods station with a brick-built warehouse and several sidings. The station was closed to passengers with effect from Monday 2 January 1967, the last passenger train to call being the 21:41 Sheffield - Derby service on Saturday 31 December 1966. The station remained staffed for two years after closure until
275-789: The North Replaced by Class 150 , Class 156 , Class 158 , Class 170 , and Class 195 units. services in the North West services in West Yorkshire Northern currently has depots for its train crew at Ashington (conductors), Barrow-in-Furness , Blackburn , Blackpool North , Buxton , Carlisle , Darlington (drivers), Doncaster , Harrogate , Huddersfield , Hull Paragon , Liverpool Lime Street , Leeds , Manchester Piccadilly , Manchester Victoria , Middlesbrough (conductors), Newcastle , Sheffield , Skipton , Wigan Wallgate , Workington and York . Northern's fleet
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#1732845150904300-527: The extensive nature of the network, it has been split by region, then majority rail line. One of the changes to the December timetable is the four trains per day service between Huddersfield and Castleford (which was frequently run as a bus rail replacement service), has been moved to TransPennine Express , and extended to start at Manchester Piccadilly , and run to York via Castleford . Twice weekly on Saturday mornings, once in each direction, Northern operates
325-456: The franchise was being widely criticised, in particular for troubled implementation of a new timetable in May 2018 that resulted in widespread delays and cancellations. Later in 2018 performance continued to suffer, with many passengers protesting and a reduced service on Saturdays due to industrial action . By November 2018, Arriva were re-evaluating their future involvement in the franchise due to
350-571: The goods station closed. The buildings were demolished in June 1973 but the platforms remained. Between 15 and 19 February 1979, British Rail temporarily reopened the station (along with Wadsley Bridge and the Midland Main Line platforms at Dore ) because road transport throughout Sheffield had been brought to a standstill by heavy snowfall. Many trains on the Midland Main Line served the station during that period, and special single fares of 20p were charged to both Chesterfield and Sheffield. Demand for
375-543: The gradients involved. During its excavation a number of small heading tunnels were needed to drain some 16,000 gallons of water an hour. At the north end is the triangular junction with the Hope Valley Line and Dore & Totley station . Northwards the line proceeds down a 1 in 110 gradient, through the abandoned Beauchief , Millhouses & Ecclesall and Heeley stations, into Sheffield station. Dronfield railway station Dronfield railway station serves
400-475: The nine Class 156/9 units formerly used by Greater Anglia, although they were renumbered back to 156/4s before the transfer. For the December timetable change in 2022, five more Class 156 units were transferred. The final Class 156 units were delivered in May 2023. The Class 319s were withdrawn on 2 January 2024. Between October 2023 and July 2024 17 Class 323 units were transferred from West Midlands Trains to Northern Trains. In August 2023, Northern issued
425-513: The operation of the franchise over to the operator of last resort . At the commencement of operations, Northern publicly stated that its immediate aims were to improve service reliability and to proceed with the introduction of new rolling stock. For the latter, both the Class 195 diesel multiple units and Class 331 electric multiple units were brought into service fully during December 2020. Services have been disrupted by wider events, particularly
450-464: The rolling stock operated by its predecessor, namely Class 142 , 144 , 150 , 153 , 155 , 156 , 158 , 170 and 195 diesel multiple units and Class 319 , 321 , 322 , 323 , 331 and 333 electric multiple units . All Class 321 and 322 units were withdrawn in mid-2020 and moved to Greater Anglia . All Class 153s were sent to storage by December 2021. 23 Class 156 units were transferred from East Midlands Railway , which includes eight of
475-446: The service as "completely unacceptable". On 29 January 2020, the DfT announced its decision to terminate Arriva Rail North as operator of the franchise, to be taken over by the DfT's operator of last resort. This was the first time that a franchise has been removed from a train operating company due to poor performance since Connex South Eastern in 2003. On 1 March 2020, the franchise became directly operated by DfT OLR Holdings with
500-504: The special services was so high on Friday 16 February that "passengers [travelling to] Sheffield were queueing on the station approach — the platforms being completely full". The station then reopened permanently to passengers on 5 January 1981 with a limited service at peak periods only. The station is managed by Northern . However, until 14 December 2008 no Northern services stopped there. A residents' pressure group, Friends of Dronfield Station, successfully campaigned for rail services to
525-556: The stated objective to "stabilise performance and restore reliability for passengers". By mid-2020, Northern had considerably curtailed its services in response to the significant decline of passenger travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic . From 15 June 2020, both passengers and staff on public transport in England, including Northern services, were required to wear face coverings while travelling, and that anyone failing to do so would be liable to be refused travel or fined. In 2021 Northern
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#1732845150904550-615: The town of Dronfield in Derbyshire , England , south of Sheffield , on the Midland Main Line between Chesterfield and Sheffield . Construction of the Sheffield & Chesterfield line was authorised by the Midland Railway Act of 1864 but it was not until Monday 2 February 1870 that the line and Dronfield station were opened to traffic. It was designed by the Midland Railway company architect John Holloway Sanders . The line
575-875: The town to be improved and continue to beautify the station and press for better facilities. From 14 December 2008 Northern started running a new hourly Express Service from Leeds to Nottingham calling at Wakefield Kirkgate , Barnsley , Meadowhall Interchange , Sheffield , Dronfield, Chesterfield , Alfreton and Langley Mill . Most of these services call at Dronfield. A small number of peak time East Midlands Railway Liverpool - Norwich services stop. However mainline services from Leeds , Sheffield and London run through at high speed, and do not stop. Interchange with mainline services can be made at Sheffield and Chesterfield . 53°18′4.6″N 1°28′8.2″W / 53.301278°N 1.468944°W / 53.301278; -1.468944 Northern (train operating company) Northern Trains , trading as Northern ,
600-448: Was given a contract by the Department for Transport to run services for three years, with an optional extension of a further two years. The contract was updated in 2022, to run until 1 March 2025. Northern is one of several train operators affected by the 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes , which are the first national rail strikes in the UK for three decades. Its workers are amongst those who voted to take industrial action due
625-562: Was known as the "New Road" to differentiate from the "Old Road" built by the North Midland Railway , which took an easier route along the Rother Valley and bypassed Sheffield. The station is on the long climb up the Drone valley to Bradway Tunnel at the point where the gradient steepens from 1 in 201 to 1 in 102. The station had single storey wooden buildings on both platforms. The main buildings, including booking office and staff offices, were on
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