A 14-mile tunnel beneath the Peak District mountains could cut journey times between Manchester and Sheffield by 30 minutes, according to an ambitious proposal. The Norway-inspired dual carriageway would remove traffic from the national park and send it underground instead. The Woodhead railway line between the two major northern cities would also be restored under the plans, which closed to the public in the 1970s and entirely in 1981.
Trans-Pennine Connect: A New Vision
The scheme, named ‘Trans-Pennine Connect’, aims to improve transport between South Yorkshire and the North West. By putting traffic underground, proponents say they can hand the Peak District landscape back to nature. This, in turn, could boost regional productivity and inject millions into the local economy. The construction of the Mottram bypass is currently ongoing, and there is belief Trans-Pennine Connect would link to this scheme, taking traffic through the tunnel towards Sheffield – improving journey times.
Cost Reduction and Norwegian Methods
Fresh plans for the 14-mile dual carriageway come years after the government shelved a similar scheme, estimating a £10.6bn cost. Now Future Works, a group of infrastructure experts, believes this can be done for just under £2bn. Michael Dnes, co-founder of Future Works, says he felt guilt about the scheme never getting off the ground during his time at the Department for Transport. After leaving the DfT, he sought a cheaper way to get it done. He looked to Norway, which built the world’s longest road tunnel, the 24.5km Lærdal, for around £130 million.
Rather than using the standard British approach of a tunnel-boring machine, Future Works has investigated the drill-and-blast method used in Norwegian tunnels. This system replaces giant machinery with more traditional mining techniques, leveraging the natural strength of the rock and small expert crews. Although this would not work in many areas of the UK, the expert teams believe this method could work in the Pennines due to similar geology to Norwegian mountains.
Funding and Timelines
A spokesperson for Future Works said: “High demand for the route means that the project could pay for itself, without the need for Westminster funding. Scandinavian tunnels are often owned by local councils, who recover the costs through tolls. Equally, northern pension funds have hundreds of billions in investment capital that could be mobilised to build the project. Many options exist – public, private and partnership.”
Future Works was set up by infrastructure experts Michael Dnes and Alex Griffiths, with combined expertise in more than £100bn of infrastructure projects. They aim to create a shovel-ready scheme and bring it through the planning system faster than the 10+ year processes that have become the norm in UK planning. Work could begin before the end of the decade, with the road and railway open in the mid-2030s. Now the ‘Trans-Pennine Connect’ scheme has been revealed, the next stage is to generate funding to actually get it started.
