New railway station may cost up to £100m - council

A new railway station planned for Rotherham may cost up to £100m, council officers have said.

Rotherham Gateway Station, incorporating both rail and Tram Train services, will be based at Parkgate, and will reintroduce mainline trains to Rotherham for the first time since the 1980s.

Lucy Mitchell, Rotherham Council's regeneration manager, told a meeting the sum was an initial estimate and more realistic cost would emerge once a full business case had been created.

"Don't be too horrified by the number, it should be pulled back significantly," Ms Mitchell said.

Ms Mitchell told the meeting on Tuesday that new stations built in other areas in recent years had cost about £40m.

The interchange would speed up journeys to Leeds by 30 minutes and York by 35 minutes, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The development would also include a multi-purpose building, combining station facilities with a business centre, making it a hub for both commuters and local businesses, the council said.

Councillor Robert Taylor, cabinet member for transport, jobs and the local economy, said that the rail connection to Rotherham had been "quite frankly, awful" for the last 40 years.

"We need to address this if we have any serious aspirations for growth and prosperity across the borough," he said.

"The gateway project will provide a new mainline station and a whole host of other transport and economic growth solutions."

He said the scheme was a "serious undertaking and there are literally dozens of hurdles that we need to overcome before even a single spade is put in the ground".

"We are determined it will happen and we have the support of the regional mayor and government to realise this project."

An outline business case for the scheme has been completed and is due to be submitted to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and the Department for Transport.

The next stage of the project, which includes detailed design and the preparation of the full business case, is estimated to cost £11.35m.

The funding is expected to come from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement programme.

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