Our reinstatement proposals for the Peaks and Dales Railway

Peaks and Dales Railway Limited is a special purpose company. Established with support from Manchester and East Midlands Rail Action Partnership, the company is leading the work to reinstate and upgrade the former Midland Mainline railway between Ambergate and Chinley - fondly known as
‘the Peaks and Dales Railway’.

Peaks and Dales Railway Limited is powered by The Goodshelter Group.

Goodshelter brings experience of planning and promoting new railways and extensions to existing railways
both in the UK and internationally.

This project is particularly exciting because, through our corporate sponsors and partners, we believe it might be possible to secure a private sector contribution to fund the reinstatement once a Transport and Works Act Order has been issued.

Peaks and Dales Railway is seeking development funding from the Department for Transport ‘Ideas Fund’, designed to support the reinstatement of railway closed further to the Beeching Report. We are seeking funding to deliver the Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC), and then to seek a Transport and Works Act Order to reinstate the Peaks and Dales Railway.

Click here to read the Foreword by our Lead Sponsor,
Robert Largan MP from our Business Case

Our Proposals

At this stage, our proposals to reinstate the Peaks and Dales Railway are in outline form. Once the Strategic Outline Business Case has been completed, we will be able to be far more specific.

PDR Line Diagram Version 2 Issue 2.3.png

Our proposals include:

  • upgrading 23 miles and reinstating 13 miles of railway to, once again, link Matlock to Buxton by rail, via Bakewell;

  • re-connecting communities across the Peak District National Park left isolated by the disastrous and short-sighted Beeching Report;

  • catalysing the economy across Derbyshire, delivering new jobs and growth;

  • re-provisioning the fabulous Monsal Trail and connecting it to stations along the reinstated railway, ensuring that visitors can continue to enjoy this spectacular attraction within the Peak District National Park;

  • enabling more of the 13.25m annual visitors (source: PDNPA) to the Peak District National Park to travel by train, reducing environmental impact and boosting economic benefit;

  • encouraging inward investment in the region;

  • transporting more of the heavy stone traffic from the quarries of the Peaks & Dales, taking HGVs off the heavily-used but narrow and winding roads of the Peak District and relieving the pressure on the seriously congested Hope Valley line;

  • linking up Derbyshire and enabling #ModalShiftToRail by providing for current and new rail users through:

    • passenger services to link Derby and Manchester via the Peak District National Park;

    • heritage operations continuing with a long-term sustainable basis and future-proofed infrastructure.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE

The draft schematic (below) shows our outline proposals for the reinstatement of the Peaks and Dales Railway in the broader context of the local railway network.

 

How you can help

1. Fundraising

The Strategic Outline Business Case and the Feasibility work requires considerable development capital. Peaks and Dales Railway is seeking to secure the majority of this initial funding from the DfT fund set up for the purpose.

Please consider becoming a member of MEMRAP or making a donation to the campaign to reinstate the Peaks and Dales line.

Whilst at an early stage, there are also proposals to enable supporters of the Peaks and Dales Railway to purchase shares in the company. If you would be interested in supporting Peaks and Dales Railway in this way, please Contact Us to register your interest. We’d be delighted to hear from you!

2. Direct Involvement

Naturally, there is a lot of work to be commissioned, undertaken and completed in order to achieve a reinstatement. Peaks and Dales Railway welcomes the involvement of corporate sponsors, partners and individuals with appropriate and relevant skillsets and experience.

Please Contact Us to let us know of relevant services and capabilities you and/or your company offers and the level of commitment you’d be prepared to make to the project.