MAYOR OF SOUTH YORKSHIRE REACTS TO RAIL SERVICE CUTS ACROSS THE REGION

Published 18 March 2022 at 4:59pm

Northern Rail have announced a series of cuts to rail services in South Yorkshire and the wider region, largely affecting commuter routes between Leeds, Sheffield, and Nottingham.

The changes will include the removal of the 08.16 Leeds – Sheffield service, and the Sheffield – Gainsborough central service will be scrapped entirely.

Responding to the proposed rail service cuts, Mayor Dan Jarvis said:

“It is deeply disappointing to see yet more cuts to our rail services in South Yorkshire which will have a huge impact on the commuter corridor between Sheffield and Leeds, and the towns and villages in between which rely on those services to stay connected.

“We are emerging from the pandemic - people have returned to work and are able to move freely, so efforts should be focused on recovering services, not cutting them back.

“Cuts of this nature run the risk of locking in the damage to public transport caused by the pandemic. They affect peoples job prospects, the ability to grow our economy, encourage more cars to be the roads increasing congestion and pollution and in some cases completely cut off whole communities.

“I will be writing to the Secretary of State about this issue and seeking urgent talks with Northern Rail to discuss this.”