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Thursday, March 28, 2024

VolkerRailStory joint venture appointed to £80m Hope Valley project

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The vital upgrades needed to improve capacity and connectivity between Sheffield and Manchester are to be undertaken by a VolkerRail and Story Contracting joint venture (JV).

The £80m project is part of a £137m investment and will see the VolkerRailStory JV undertake extensive enhancement works to remove several bottlenecks along the route to improve reliability, increase passenger services and aid in freight movements.

The Hope Valley Capacity Scheme forms part of the government’s commitment to upgrade the rail network across the North of England, and meet future passenger demands. The project includes 2 main elements which are:

  1. Dore and Totley station – Construct a second line at Dore Station Junctionand extending track between West View Lane and Dore South Junction, as wellas building a second platform to Dore Station and improvements to standageon Heely Loop.
  2. Bamford Loop – Construct a 1km passing loop alongside the existing railwayto the east of Bamford station for passenger services to overtake freight trains

As part of the project, the VolkerRailStory JV will also be delivering a variety of community projects, including volunteering, schools engagement, work placements and other opportunities for young people.

Paul Jones, operations director for VolkerRail, said: “This project will create much
needed improvements to passengers in the north of England. Through a
collaborative approach, with our joint venture partner, Story, we aim to build for the
future, as we undertake the significant upgrades along the network. The rural
locations, in which we will be working, offer a beautiful landscape for passengers
and we will ensure minimal impact to the natural environment”.

Martin Smith, managing director for Story Contracting’s Rail Division said “We are
delighted to be delivering this significant project for Network Rail, building for the
future of the north of England’s transport infrastructure with VolkerRail. In addition
to the actual delivery of the scheme, we are looking forward to working with the
local communities, businesses and educational establishments to deliver on the
social value aspects of the project.”

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