Sheffield

Sheffield is linked into the national motorway network via the M1 and M18 motorways. [78] The M1 skirts the north-east of the city, linking Sheffield with London to the south and Leeds to the north, and crosses Tinsley Viaduct near Rotherham; the M18 branches from the M1 close to Sheffield, linking the city with Doncaster, Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport, and the Humber ports. The Sheffield Parkway connects the city centre with the motorways.

Major railway routes through Sheffield railway station include the Midland Main Line, which links the city to London via the East Midlands, the Cross Country Route which links the East of Scotland and Northeast of England with the West Midlands and the Southwest, and the lines linking Liverpool and Manchester with Hull and East Anglia. [79] Passenger rail services serving Sheffield are provided by East Midlands Trains, Cross Country, TransPennine Express, and Northern Rail. [80]

The closest international airport to Sheffield is Doncaster Sheffield Airport, which is located 18 miles (29 km) from the city centre. The airport opened on 28 April 2005 and is served mainly by budget airlines. It handles about one million passengers a year. [81]Leeds Bradford International Airport and East Midlands Airport: Nottingham, Leicester, Derby lie within one hour's drive of the city, and Manchester Airport is connected to Sheffield by a direct train every hour. [82]

Sheffield is also served by a number of coach services. National Express Coaches provides most services, using Sheffield Interchange, Meadowhall Interchange and Meadowhead Bus stop as pick up/drop off points. Sheffield Interchange handles most services and is the start point/terminus for a number of them. [83] [84] [85]

The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation (S&SY) is a system of navigable inland waterways (canals and canalised rivers) in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. [86] Chiefly based on the River Don, it runs for a length of 43 miles (69 km) and has 29 locks. It connects Sheffield, Rotherham, and Doncaster with the River Trent at Keadby and (via the New Junction Canal) the Aire and Calder Navigation. [87]

Local travel

Sheffield does not have as extensive a suburban and inter-urban railway network as other comparable British cities. [89] However, there are several local rail routes running along the city's valleys and beyond, connecting it with other parts of South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire. These local routes include the Penistone Line, the Dearne Valley Line, the Hope Valley Line, and the Hallam Line. As well as the main stations of Sheffield and Meadowhall, there are four suburban stations, at Chapeltown, Darnall, Woodhouse, and Dore. [90]

The light rail system Sheffield Supertram (operated by Stagecoach Sheffield), opened in 1994, serves the city. Its network consists of three lines, from Halfway to Malin Bridge, from Meadowhall to Middlewood, and from Meadowhall to Herdings Park, with all three lines running via the city centre. [91]

Sheffield's local bus infrastructure has its main hub at Sheffield Interchange. Other bus stations lie at Halfway, Hillsborough and Meadowhall. A flurry of new operators were created after deregulation in 1986, [92] though a series of mergers has reduced the number. First South Yorkshire, part of FirstGroup, became by far the largest bus operator and in recent years implemented a series of fare rises and service cuts which saw bus ridership drop. [93] [94] Recent developments have seen Stagecoach Sheffield taking over Yorkshire Terrier, Andrews and parent company Yorkshire Traction, thus forming one company and in the process expanding their bus services in the city. This has resulted in increased competition, and price drops on certain routes. [95] A zero-fare bus service—the FreeBee—operates on a circular route around the city centre from the Sheffield Interchange. [96]

In 2008, the Bus Rapid Transit Scheme between Sheffield and Rotherham was approved by the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly's Regional Transport Board. There are plans for two routes; one (the Northern route) via Meadowhall and Templeborough, and the other via the developing employment centre and Waverley. [97]

Although hilly, Sheffield is compact and has few major trunk roads running through it. It is on the Trans-Pennine Trail, a National Cycle Network route running from Southport in the north-west to Hornsea in the East Riding