Meadowhall Interchange is a

transport interchange A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...

located in north-east

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, consisting of a combined heavy rail station,

tram stop A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, bu ...

and bus and coach station. The second-busiest heavy rail station in the city in terms of passenger numbers, Meadowhall Interchange provides connections between

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...

services, the

Sheffield Supertram The Sheffield Supertram is a tram and tram-train network covering Sheffield and Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. The infrastructure is owned by the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), with Stagecoach responsible for th ...

light rail network, intercity coach services and the city bus network. The interchange was opened in 1990 by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

under the

Regional Railways Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1997, two years after privatisation. The sector was originally called ''Provincial''. Regional Railways was the most subsidised (per pas ...

sector, to serve the new Meadowhall shopping centre, which opened at the same time and is connected to the interchange by a pedestrian footbridge. The interchange is now owned by

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

and operated by Northern, with additional services provided by

TransPennine Express TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major ci ...

History

Previous stations

The first station to be named after the Meadowhall area, Meadowhall and Wincobank, was opened in 1868 by the

South Yorkshire Railway The South Yorkshire Railway was a railway company with lines in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Initially promoted as the South Yorkshire Coal Railway in 1845, the railway was enabled by an act of 1847 as the South Yorkshire Doncaster and ...

on the Blackburn Valley Line from Sheffield Victoria to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

. Meadowhall and Wincobank station closed in 1953 and the track was eventually lifted and converted into a

cycle path A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...

in 1987, although the station building survives in good condition. Upon opening in 1990, Meadowhall Interchange effectively replaced Brightside station, located around one mile further down the line towards

. However, limited services continued to serve Brightside for several years after the opening of Meadowhall Interchange, with Brightside station finally closing in 1995.

Construction and opening

Sheffield Supertram - Meadowhall Interchange 07-07-04

Meadowhall Interchange was constructed to serve the new Meadowhall shopping centre, which opened on 4 September 1990 on the former site of steelworks in the Don Valley in north-east Sheffield. The interchange was constructed to the north of the shopping centre on the opposite bank of the River Don, with a pedestrian suspension bridge linking the interchange with the shopping centre. The heavy rail and bus and coach stations opened in 1990. The

light rail platforms opened on 21 March 1994. The section of line from Meadowhall to Fitzalan Square, in the city centre, was the first phase of the network to open.

Future

Meadowhall Interchange was selected as the initial site for

High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...

station, with a high-level viaduct station planned to be constructed parallel to the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...

Tinsley Viaduct Tinsley Viaduct is a two-tier road bridge in Sheffield, England; it was the first of its kind in the United Kingdom. It carries the M1 and the A631 for a distance of over the Don Valley, from Tinsley to Wincobank, also crossing the Sheffie ...

adjacent to the mainline station. However, these plans were eventually dropped, with plans for High Speed 2 services to instead serve

Sheffield station Sheffield station, formerly ''Pond Street'' and later ''Sheffield Midland'', is a combined railway station and tram stop in Sheffield, England; it is the busiest station in South Yorkshire. Adjacent is Sheffield station/Sheffield Hallam Unive ...

in the city centre. As part of the plans for High Speed 2, proposals were put forward for the construction of a new Supertram line from Meadowhall Interchange to Dore & Totley station in the south-west of the city.

Layout and facilities

Layout

The interchange is located to the north of Meadowhall shopping centre, to which it is connected by a pedestrian footbridge, which provides the main entrance to the interchange. Additionally, entrances are located from Meadowhall Road into the bus station, on Barrow Road from the park and ride car park onto the heavy rail platforms, and from Tyler Street directly from street level onto the main concourse. The ticket office for

services is located off to the side of the footbridge which connects the interchange with the shopping centre. This footbridge continues over platforms 1 and 2, opening up onto a raised open-air concourse area from which platforms 2 and 3 can be accessed. A further footbridge from this central concourse provides access to platform 4 and the Tyler Street interchange entrance; platform 1 and the Supertram platforms are accessed directly by steps down from the main footbridge, opposite the ticket office. Meadowhall Station p3 2018

There are no ticket barriers at the interchange. In addition to the ticket office, several ticket machines are located in the open-air concourse between platforms 2 and 3. The main waiting room, with toilet and baby changing facilities, is located at the end of the light rail platforms, opening onto platform 1, with an additional waiting room provided on platform 2. A park and ride car park is located behind platform 2, with additional parking facilities available around the shopping centre. A second concourse is located next to the bus and coach station and contains toilets,

Travel South Yorkshire The South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the passenger transport executive for South Yorkshire in England. It is supervised by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, which consists of representatives from the metropolitan b ...

ticket purchasing facilities and a number of small shopping outlets.

Platforms

The station is located immediately to the north-east of Station Junction, where the Dearne Valley Line diverges from the Hallam and

Penistone Line The Penistone Line is operated by Northern Trains in the West Yorkshire Metro and Travel South Yorkshire areas of northern England. It connects Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley, serving many rural communities. Metrocards ( ...

s. Platforms 1 and 2 are a pair of side platforms located closest to the shopping centre on the Dearne Valley Line. Platforms 3 and 4 are a pair of side platforms located on the other side of the central open-air concourse on the Hallam and Penistone Lines, laid out at a 45 degree angle to platforms 1 and 2. Meadowhall tram 2018

The light rail platforms, numbered MEI1 and MEI2, are located immediately behind and parallel to platform 1; they are constructed in an island layout. Since the cessation of off-peak Purple Line services to Meadowhall Interchange, most tram services depart from platform MEI1. There are a total of sixteen stands at the bus and coach station, arranged into four main rows, each accessed by

zebra crossing A zebra crossing (British English) or a marked crosswalk (American English) is a pedestrian crossing marked with white stripes (zebra markings). Normally, pedestrians are afforded precedence over vehicular traffic, although the significance of ...

s. Row A, consisting of stands A1 to A5, is located alongside the bus station concourse. Row B, consisting of stands B1 and B2, is located as a small island between rows A and C. Row C, consisting of stands C1 to C5, and row D, consisting of stands D1 to D4, are a pair of parallel island rows located at the side of the bus station closest to the heavy rail platforms. The majority of intercity bus and coach services depart from row A, while city bus services depart from rows B, C and D.

Operation

National Rail services

Current off-peak services from the interchange include (in Trains per Hour, tph): *6tph to only (

Northern Trains Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT) ...

) *2tph to (fast) via

Barnsley Interchange Barnsley Interchange is a combined rail and bus station in the centre of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. It was first opened in 1850 as ''Barnsley Exchange'' railway station and is north of Sheffield. It is on the Hallam and Penistone Lines, both ...

and (Northern Trains) *2tph to via , with 1tph continuing through to (Northern Trains) *1tph to and via Doncaster, and

Hull Paragon Interchange Hull Paragon Interchange is a transport interchange providing rail, bus and coach services located in the city centre of Kingston upon Hull, England. The G. T. Andrews-designed station was originally named ''Paragon Station'', and together ...

(Northern Trains) *1tph to via Doncaster, and (

) *1tph to via Barnsley Interchange and (Northern Trains) *1tph to (slow) via Rotherham Central, and (Northern Trains) *1tph to (slow) via Barnsley Interchange, Wakefield Kirkgate and (Northern Trains) *1tph to via Sheffield, , and (Northern Trains) *1tph to via Sheffield and (TransPennine Express) *1tph to via Sheffield, and (Northern Trains) *3 trains per day to via Rotherham Central and (Northern Trains)

Sheffield Supertram services

Meadowhall Interchange is the terminus of the

's Yellow route. Until 25 October 2018, additional services were provided by the Purple route on Sundays, and prior to 2016, during off-peak hours of operation during the week and on Saturdays. Current off-peak tram services from the interchange consist of five Yellow route trams per hour to Middlewood, via the city centre. Additional services operate during the morning and evening peak to provide a ten-minute frequency.

Bus and coach services

Meadowhall Interchange is located a short distance from Junction 34 of the

, meaning it is more conveniently located for intercity coach services than

Sheffield Interchange Sheffield Interchange is the main bus station in central Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The facility is served by buses operating across the Sheffield region, as well as National Express coaches that connect Sheffield with destinations ac ...

in the city centre. As a result, many coach services for Sheffield call at Meadowhall Interchange instead of the city centre, particularly

Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America) Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/ Coach Canada operating in the ...

services. To link passengers with

Sheffield City Centre Sheffield City Centre (referred to locally as simply Town) is a district of the Sheffield, City of Sheffield and is covered partly by the City ward, Sheffield, City ward of the City of Sheffield. It includes the area that is within a radius of ...

, there are many bus services between Sheffield Interchange and Meadowhall Interchange, including the express X1 ''Steel Link'', X17 ''Gold'' and X78 every ten minutes. Intercity coach services, operated by Flixbus,

and

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

, usually depart from stands A1 and A2, the two stands closest to the shopping centre. Coach service destinations include

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and various airports. Meadowhall Interchange is also a major hub for intercity, local and city bus services operated by

Powell's Bus HCT Group was a social enterprise providing transport services and community services in several areas of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1982 as Hackney Community Transport in the London Borough of Hackney, to provide transport services f ...

First South Yorkshire First South Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing bus services within and across South Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History In 1989, South Yorkshire Transport introduced the ''Mainline'' brand on certain bus routes aro ...

and

Stagecoach Yorkshire Stagecoach Yorkshire is an operating division of Stagecoach Group. It was formed in 2005 to take over the former Traction Group fleets in Yorkshire by Stagecoach Group, which took over Traction from Frank Carter on 14 December 2005; Yorkshi ...

, including express routes X1, X17 and X78 to Maltby,

and

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

respectively. The bus station is in the

PlusBus Plusbus is an add-on ticket, which can be purchased with National Rail train tickets in the United Kingdom. It allows unlimited travel on participating bus and tram operators' services in the whole urban area of rail-served towns and cities. ...

scheme, which means that train and bus tickets can be bought together at a saving. Meadowhall is in the same zone as

station. , the stand allocation is:

References

{{Stagecoach Sheffield Supertram Railway stations in Sheffield DfT Category C2 stations Bus stations in South Yorkshire Sheffield Supertram stops Railway stations opened by British Rail Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1990 Railway stations served by TransPennine Express Northern franchise railway stations High-speed rail in the United Kingdom Bus transport in Sheffield