Hope Valley line

Hope Valley line
The line at Bamford in the Hope Valley
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Greater Manchester Derbyshire South Yorkshire
Termini	Manchester Piccadilly Sheffield
Stations	28
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	East Midlands Railway Northern Trains TransPennine Express
Depot(s)	Longsight
Rolling stock	Class 150 Class 156 Class 158 Class 170 Class 185 Class 195
History
Opened	6 November 1893 (goods) 1 June 1894 (passengers)
Technical
Number of tracks	Double-track
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV AC OHLE (Western part), from Manchester Piccadilly to Hazel Grove, Ashburys and Guide Bridge
Operating speed	90 mph (140 km/h) 125 mph (201 km/h) (Manchester Piccadilly to Stockport) 40 mph (64 km/h) (Hazel Grove to Edgeley Junction)
Route map (Click to expand)

v t e Hope Valley Line
Legend
Manchester Lines to Salford Manchester Piccadilly River Medlock to Manchester Airport Levenshulme Ardwick Heaton Chapel Ashburys Belle Vue Gorton Ryder Brow Fairfield First site 1841–1892 Reddish North Fairfield Reddish South Denton River Mersey Guide Bridge Stockport Stockport–Stalybridge line to Stalybridge Brinnington River Tame Bredbury Peak Forest Canal Mid-Cheshire line Glossop line to Hadfield and Glossop West Coast Main Line Hyde North Davenport Hyde Central Woodsmoor Woodley Hazel Grove Romiley to Mid-Cheshire line (freight only) Rose Hill Marple MB&MR Buxton line River Etherow Disley Tunnel Peak Forest Canal Macclesfield Canal Peak Forest Canal Marple River Goyt River Goyt Strines New Mills Central Hayfield branch Chinley Buxton line (freight only) Cowburn Tunnel Edale Earles Sidings Hope River Derwent Bamford Hathersage Grindleford 6230 yd 5697 m Totley Tunnel Freight line to MML Dore and Totley Midland Main Line Sheffield

The Hope Valley line is a trans-Pennine railway line in Northern England, linking Manchester with Sheffield. It was completed in 1894.

Passenger services on the line are operated by Northern Trains, East Midlands Railway and TransPennine Express, while the quarries around Hope, producing stone and cement, provide a source of freight traffic.

From Sheffield, the line follows the Midland Main Line through the south-west of the city to Dore & Totley, where the Hope Valley line branches off to run through the Totley Tunnel, the fourth-longest tunnel in England. It emerges in the Hope Valley area of Derbyshire, where it passes through the stations of Grindleford, Hathersage, Bamford, Hope and Edale before entering the two-mile-long Cowburn Tunnel. From the western portal of the tunnel, the line runs through Chinley, then splits. The northern branch runs via New Mills Central towards Manchester Piccadilly. The southern branch passes through the Disley Tunnel before merging with the Buxton line and then heading to Stockport to join the West Coast Main Line to Manchester.