Re-open the Woodhead Line

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Re-open the Woodhead Tunnel exists:
To promote and support the re-instatement of an ideally electrified railway between Manchester and Sheffield via the Woodhead tunnel , that is open to all classes of traffic in order:

- To reduce the environmental impact of transporting people and freight across the Southern Pennines.

- To create a means of access to the northern half of the Peak District National Park for non-car users, cyclists and the disabled.

- To create improved access to employment opportunities in Yorkshire and Eastern England for the people of the eastern suburbs of Manchester and Longendale.

- To restore the competitiveness of trans-pennine rail passenger journey times.

- To make rail-freight a more attractive option by providing a more direct route between the ports on the eastern and western sides of the country.

- To provide more ready access to high speed rail passenger rail services between Eastern Scotland, London and continental Europe.

- To improve the reliability of southern trans-Pennine rail services by creating an alternative to the Hope Valley when that route is blocked.