SYPN - Tram Profile

UK: South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has unveiled South Yorkshire People’s Network as the branding for the region’s public transport, along with a Transport Vision for ‘once-in-a-generation’ change to create ‘a joined up, sustainable transport system’, that is ‘reliable, affordable, welcoming and easy to use’.

The people’s tram is molten orange

The Mayoral Combined Authority said the brand announced on March 16 ‘reflects South Yorkshire’s pride in taking back control and the determination to build something better’, with colours of molten orange, grey and asphalt black which represent steel, coal, northern grit and resilience.

The South Yorkshire People’s Network follows on from the announcement of West Yorkshire’s Weaver Network in 2025, and Greater Manchester’s Bee Network branding.

South Yorkshire’s plans are to be built around six principles:

  • Freedom and choice – connecting people to where they want to go;
  • Prioritising people;
  • Affordable;
  • Matching growth ambitions – creating jobs, opportunities and investing in communities;
  • Fit for the future;
  • Safe and easy to use.

‘Transport isn’t just about getting from A to B’, said Coppard. ’A proper public transport network gives people real freedom and choice about how they travel and move, connects people to opportunity and opens up new horizons. But public transport in South Yorkshire has been broken for too long. I promised to make change happen, to give South Yorkshire back the world-class public transport system we once had, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. That’s why we’re putting in a huge investment to fix our public transport system, backed by even greater ambition, so that we can build something that truly works for all of us across South Yorkshire; a real People’s Network.’

Transport Vision

SYPN - Tram Interior

The Transport Vision long-term plan is to be formally signed off at the Mayoral Combined Authority Board meeting on March 24. Coppard said delivering it would take time and long-term investment, and he would ‘keep fighting for the bold funding the region deserves’.

In the Transport Vision, Coppard refers to the time the region was nicknamed the People’s Republic of South Yorkshire. He says ‘our transport system was the envy of the world’, but ‘over the last 40 years it has been steadily dismantled’ while ‘the world changed, and our transport system didn’t’.

Immediate plans include opening the Magna Supertram stop this summer, and rolling out the new brand on bus stops and a website. This will be followed by bus franchising in 2027-29, branding the trams and buses, simplified tickets available on franchised bus services including integrated tram and bus tickets, and planning tramway extensions supported by £7·5m of government funding.

Plans for the 2030s include Northern Powerhouse Rail Phase 1 offering four fast train services per hour between Sheffield and Leeds, capacity upgrades at Sheffield Midland and Doncaster stations, development of Rotherham Gateway station and tram stop, a new Waverley station to serve the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District. Also proposed is the procurement of 25 new cars for the Supertram network, improvements to the Penistone Line with faster trains and double the frequency, and expansion of the tram and tram-train networks.

Ambitions for 2040s include Northern Powerhouse Rail Phase 3 with four fast trains per hour between Sheffield and Manchester, and all stations in South Yorkshire being step-free.  Other ambitions include electrification of the Midland Main Line and other key routes, ‘looking at’ reopening Sheffield Victoria station and creating better links from Barnsley including a direct service to London. The authority wants more local powers over rail, and expects that the future Great British Railways will give it a greater say.

Responses

South Yorkshire People’s Network bus

Henri Murison, Chief Executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said ‘to realise its destiny, the city region needs a transport network that connects people more easily by public transport to the better paid jobs and opportunities being created here which too often it currently is falling short of.’

Lord David Blunkett said ‘for too long, South Yorkshire has been held back by a public transport system that hasn’t matched the needs or ambitions of our communities. I’m pleased the aims set out in my Yorkshire Plan for Rail are now reflected in the wider vision for public transport in South Yorkshire, creating services that are reliable, accessible and with the aim of making them affordable.’

Supporting documents

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