Meadowhall Interchange is a transport interchange located in north-east Sheffield, consisting of a combined heavy rail station, tram stop and bus and coach station. The second-busiest heavy rail station in the city in terms of passenger numbers, Meadowhall Interchange provides connections between National Rail services, the Sheffield Supertram light rail network, intercity coach services and the city bus network.
Meadowhall Interchange   | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Sheffield England | ||||
| Coordinates | 53°25′00″N 1°24′51″W / 53.4167°N 1.4141°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SK390912 | ||||
| Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||
| Transit authority | Travel South Yorkshire | ||||
| Platforms | 4 (National Rail) 2 (Sheffield Supertram) 16 (bus and coach station) | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | MHS | ||||
| Fare zone | Sheffield & Rotherham | ||||
| Classification | DfT category C2 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | British Rail | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 4 September 1990 | Bus and heavy rail stations opened | ||||
| 21 March 1994 | Supertram platforms opened | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  1.796 million | ||||
| Interchange |  48,815 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 0.379 million | ||||
| Interchange | 14,473 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 1.345 million | ||||
| Interchange | 39,079 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 1.453 million | ||||
| Interchange | 37,097 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 1.678 million | ||||
| Interchange | 37,787 | ||||
| |||||
The interchange was opened in 1990 by British Rail under the Regional Railways sector, to serve the new Meadowhall shopping centre, which opened at the same time and is connected to the interchange by a pedestrian footbridge. The interchange is now owned by Network Rail and operated by Northern, with additional services provided by TransPennine Express.
History
editPrevious stations
editThe first station to be named after the Meadowhall area, Meadowhall & Wincobank, was opened in 1868 by the South Yorkshire Railway on the Blackburn Valley Line from Sheffield Victoria to Barnsley. Meadowhall & Wincobank station closed in 1953 and the track was eventually lifted and converted into a cycle path in 1987, although the station building survives in good condition.
Upon opening in 1990, Meadowhall Interchange effectively replaced Brightside station, located around one mile further down the line towards Sheffield. However, limited services continued to serve Brightside for several years after the opening of Meadowhall Interchange, with Brightside station finally closing in 1995.
| Historical railways | ||||
| Brightside Line open, station closed |
Regional Railways | Rotherham Central Line and station open | ||
Construction and opening
edit
In 1989, the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive received a European Regional Development Fund grant for 50% of the cost of Meadowhall Interchange.[1][2]
Meadowhall Interchange was constructed to serve the new Meadowhall shopping centre, which opened on 4 September 1990 on the former site of steelworks in the Don Valley in north-east Sheffield.[3] The interchange was constructed to the north of the shopping centre on the opposite bank of the River Don, with a pedestrian suspension bridge linking the interchange with the shopping centre. The heavy rail and bus and coach stations opened in 1990.
The Sheffield Supertram light rail platforms opened on 21 March 1994. The section of line from Meadowhall to Fitzalan Square, in the city centre, was the first phase of the network to open.
Future
editMeadowhall Interchange was selected as the initial site for Sheffield's High Speed 2 station, with a high-level viaduct station planned to be constructed parallel to the M1 motorway's Tinsley Viaduct adjacent to the mainline station.[4][5] However, these plans were eventually dropped, with plans for High Speed 2 services to instead serve Sheffield station in the city centre.[6][7]
As part of the plans for High Speed 2, proposals were put forward for the construction of a new Supertram line from Meadowhall Interchange to Dore & Totley station in the south-west of the city.[8]
Layout and facilities
editLayout
edit
The interchange is located to the north of Meadowhall shopping centre, to which it is connected by a pedestrian footbridge, which provides the main entrance to the interchange. Additionally, entrances are located from Meadowhall Road into the bus station, on Barrow Road from the park and ride car park onto the heavy rail platforms, and from Tyler Street directly from street level onto the main concourse.
The ticket office for National Rail services is located off to the side of the footbridge which connects the interchange with the shopping centre. This footbridge continues over platforms 1 and 2, opening up onto a raised open-air concourse area from which platforms 2 and 3 can be accessed. A further footbridge from this central concourse provides access to platform 4 and the Tyler Street interchange entrance; platform 1 and the Supertram platforms are accessed directly by steps down from the main footbridge, opposite the ticket office.
There are no ticket barriers at the interchange. In addition to the ticket office, several ticket machines are located in the open-air concourse between platforms 2 and 3. The main waiting room, with toilet and baby changing facilities, is located at the end of the light rail platforms, opening onto platform 1, with an additional waiting room provided on platform 2. A park and ride car park is located behind platform 2, with additional parking facilities available around the shopping centre.
A second concourse is located next to the bus and coach station and contains toilets, Travel South Yorkshire ticket purchasing facilities and a number of small shopping outlets.
Platforms
editThe station is located immediately to the north-east of Station Junction, where the Dearne Valley Line diverges from the Hallam and Penistone Lines. Platforms 1 and 2 are a pair of side platforms located closest to the shopping centre on the Dearne Valley Line. Platforms 3 and 4 are a pair of side platforms located on the other side of the central open-air concourse on the Hallam and Penistone Lines, laid out at a 45-degree angle to platforms 1 and 2.
The light rail platforms, numbered MEI1 and MEI2, are located immediately behind and parallel to platform 1; they are constructed in an island layout. Since the cessation of off-peak Purple Line services to Meadowhall Interchange, most tram services depart from platform MEI1.
There are a total of sixteen stands at the bus and coach station, arranged into four main rows, each accessed by zebra crossings. Row A, consisting of stands A1 to A5, is located alongside the bus station concourse. Row B, consisting of stands B1 and B2, is located as a small island between rows A and C. Row C, consisting of stands C1 to C5, and row D, consisting of stands D1 to D4, are a pair of parallel island rows located at the side of the bus station closest to the heavy rail platforms. The majority of intercity bus and coach services depart from row A, while city bus services depart from rows B, C and D.
Services
editNational Rail services
editCurrent off-peak services from the interchange include (in Trains per Hour, tph):
- 6tph to Sheffield only (Northern Trains)
- 2tph to Leeds (fast) via Barnsley Interchange and Wakefield Kirkgate (Northern Trains)[9]
- 1tph to Doncaster via Rotherham Central, continuing through to Adwick (Northern Trains)
- 1tph to Bridlington and Scarborough via Doncaster, Goole and Hull Paragon Interchange (Northern Trains)[10]
- 1tph to Cleethorpes via Doncaster, Scunthorpe and Grimsby Town (TransPennine Express)
- 1tph to Huddersfield via Barnsley Interchange and Penistone (Northern Trains)
- 1tph to Leeds (slow) via Rotherham Central, Moorthorpe and Wakefield Westgate (Northern Trains)
- 1tph to Leeds (slow) via Barnsley Interchange, Wakefield Kirkgate and Castleford (Northern Trains)
- 1tph to Lincoln Central via Sheffield, Worksop, Retford and Gainsborough Lea Road (Northern Trains)[11]
- 1tph to Liverpool Lime Street via Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly (TransPennine Express)
- 1tph to Nottingham via Sheffield, Chesterfield and Alfreton (Northern Trains)
- 3 trains per day to York via Rotherham Central and Pontefract Baghill (Northern Trains)[12]
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TransPennine Express South TransPennine | ||||
| Northern Trains Hallam Line | ||||
| Northern Trains Penistone Line | ||||
| Northern Trains Dearne Valley Line | ||||
| Northern Trains Wakefield Line | ||||
| Future Services | ||||
| Sheffield | Northern Trains Leeds - Lincoln |
Barnsley | ||
The station briefly had a direct service to London St Pancras after Midland Mainline introduced a service to Barnsley in May 1999.[13]
South Yorkshire Supertram services
editMeadowhall Interchange is the terminus of the South Yorkshire Supertram's Yellow route. Until 25 October 2018, additional services were provided by the Purple route on Sundays, and prior to 2016, during off-peak hours of operation during the week and on Saturdays.[14]
Current off-peak tram services from the interchange consist of five Yellow route trams per hour to Middlewood, via the city centre.[15] Additional services operate during the morning and evening peak to provide a ten-minute frequency.
| Preceding station | South Yorkshire Supertram | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Yellow Line | Meadowhall South/Tinsley towards Middlewood |
Bus and coach services
editMeadowhall Interchange | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Meadowhall Road, Meadowhall Sheffield England |
| Owned by | Meadowhall Shopping Centre |
| Operated by | Travel South Yorkshire |
| Bus stands | 16 |
| Bus operators | First South Yorkshire, Flixbus, Megabus, National Express, Stagecoach Yorkshire |
| Construction | |
| Parking | Yes (free, in shopping centre) |
| Bicycle facilities | Yes |
| Accessible | Yes |
| History | |
| Opened | 4 September 1990 |
Meadowhall Interchange is located a short distance from Junction 34 of the M1 motorway, meaning it is more conveniently located for intercity coach services than Sheffield Interchange in the city centre. As a result, many coach services for Sheffield call at Meadowhall Interchange instead of the city centre, particularly Megabus services. To link passengers with Sheffield City Centre, there are many bus services between Sheffield Interchange and Meadowhall Interchange, including the express X1 Steel Link, X17 Gold and X3 every ten minutes.
Intercity coach services, operated by Flixbus, Megabus and National Express, usually depart from stands A1 and A2, the two stands closest to the shopping centre. Coach service destinations include London, Leeds, Newcastle, Scotland and various airports. Meadowhall Interchange is also a major hub for intercity, local and city bus services operated by First South Yorkshire and Stagecoach Yorkshire, including express routes X1, X17 and X3 to Maltby, Barnsley and Doncaster respectively.
The bus station is in the PlusBus scheme, which means that train and bus tickets can be bought together at a saving. Meadowhall is in the same zone as Sheffield station.
As of May 2024[update], the stand allocation is:
References
edit- ^ EC backs S Yorks Commercial Motor 19 October 1989
- ^ Intelligence Railway Gazette International November 1989 page 766
- ^ Around the Regions Rail issue 132 4 October 1990 page 20
- ^ "Meadowhall to get Sheffield's HS2 high-speed rail station" BBC News 28 January 2013
- ^ Route HSL15 and HSL28 Plan and Profile Sheet (PDF) (Map). 1:5000. 2012.
- ^ "HS2: Sheffield and South Yorkshire Report 2016 (Research & Analysis)"High Speed 2 Ltd 7 July 2016; Retrieved 19 July 2016
- ^ "HS2 South Yorkshire route change threatens new estate" BBC News Sheffield & South Yorkshire news article 7 July 2016; Retrieved 19 July 2016
- ^ "New Sheffield Supertram line in ‘transport revolution’" Archived 16 April 2015 at the Wayback MachineThe Star news article 28 January 2013
- ^ Table 34 National Rail timetable, December 2019
- ^ Table 29 National Rail timetable, December 2019
- ^ Table 30 National Rail timetable, December 2019
- ^ Table 33 National Rail timetable, December 2019
- ^ MML serves 6 new stations Rail issue 355 21 April 1999 page 10
- ^ "Service Changes".[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Yellow route tram timetable". Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
External links
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