Welcome

The Peaks and Dales Line is the route name adopted for reopening the former Midland Mainline that would enable the return of a regular, direct Manchester to Derby service via Buxton, Bakewell, Chinley and Matlock for the first time since closure in 1968.

As part of our proposals we have secured the support of over 25 Members of Parliament, and continue to grow support across the communities the line will serve and those that will benefit from the reinstatement.

We are currently finalising our feasibility study ahead of submission to the Department for Transport before summer 2025.

The feasibility study is part of a Department for Transport process and ensures that we can fully explain the outline costs and also the anticpated benefits that could be achieved.

We are grateful to our team and those selected organisations supporting us who provide their skills, knowledge and experience freely to the project.

We are supported by a range of indivuiduals through the Manchester and East Midlands Rail Action Partnership (MEMRAP) as well as through your kind donations that have enabled us to grow support locally and regionally.

If you wish to and are able to support the reinstatement you could always ‘buy us a coffee’, or consider joining MEMRAP and you can be assured that your contribution will make a difference.

Please see the ‘Supporting Us’ page.

Our Community Teams initiative across the communities the line will serve, and those communities that will benefit from the reopening continues to grow.

The community led initiative enables residents and local businesses to get on-board with supporting the proposals to reopen the line.

Our approach works within five professionally recognised areas - Engagement, Inclusion, Structure, Empowerment and Sharing.

Our Community Teams have access to up to date and accurate information for sharing within their communities, and they also provide feedback for the project team.

If you would like to know more, please contact us at:

communities@peaksanddalesline.co.uk

The Railway

By reinstating and upgrading around 36 miles of the original route, our proposals deliver a direct railway connection between Manchester and Derby for the first time since 1968, providing national, regional and much needed connectivity for the local communities along the route.

The reopened railway would provide vital community connectivity as well as sustainably providing access to the National Park.

THE MONSAL TRAIL NETWORK

Approval for the Monsal Trail was linked to safeguarding the route for the possible future reinstatement of the railway.

Planning consents require a replacement trail to be constructed within the National Park as part of the reinstatement of the railway.

We are working on exciting proposals to create an enhanced experience for visitors to the Peak District National Park. This will enable connectivity with the stations along the route, and also provides improved access to other trails and footpaths.

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability and investing in biodiversity and the environment are at the heart of our proposals.

Given the number of visitors to the Peak District National Park each year, and the openly acknowledged 'unsustainable transport problem' created by around 95% of those Park visitors arriving by car, this is a long-standing and ongoing situation that can only be resolved by having a multi-modal integrated transport solution that includes rail.

Re-opening the line provides a unique opportunity to deliver a sustainable transport solution, with significant carbon reduction potential through modal shift from road to rail, and investment in nature recovery networks along the route.

The positive impact that a regular passenger service, plus a railway freight services has on reducing road vehicles is evidenced across the country.

Every single train on the Peaks and Dales Line could reduce road vehicles as shown here: