The development of a commuter type operation received a boost in late June 2010 when a feasibility study indicated that the infrastructure cost to introduce a half hourly shuttle service between Stocksbridge/Deepcar and Sheffield Victoria operating non-stop shuttle along the route would be around £4.3 million. This is around a quarter the cost of the lowest of previous estimates for introduction of the service. This reduction was identified as a result of the assessment of the quality of the track undertaken as part of DVR’s study.
A local government official supportive of the project cited reduced traffic as a primary benefit, leading to shorter commutes and a smaller regional carbon footprint. However, the same official admitted that raising capital for the project remained difficult in the economic environment of mid-2010.
The focus now is on delivering the introductory commuter rail service along the route.
The study is broken into seven parts, PDFs of which are available for download below. Click on them to open in your browser, or right click and Save As.