Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Train station plans approved

Plans for a train station at Doncaster Sheffield Airport have been approved by the Department for Transport (DfT).

It would link the airport with the Lincoln to Sheffield line.

However, the plans hinge on the airport remaining open, with owners Peel stating in July the site "may no longer be commercially viable".

Don Valley MP Nick Fletcher described the latest development as "good news" but warned it would be "meaningless" if the airport was to close.

If the plans come to fruition, passengers would be able to catch direct trains to the airport from Sheffield as well as smaller stations along the Lincoln line.

Those travelling along the East Coast Main Line (ECML) would have to change at Doncaster.

A railway station at the airport, said to cost about £200m, has long been called for.

In February 2020, the then-aviation minister Paul Maynard visited airport bosses to view plans for a £10m terminal expansion and ambitions for a railway station and new link to the East Coast Mainline and the Doncaster/Lincoln line.

Airport bosses previously said a railway station and 4.5-mile track scheme could be delivered in five years, with no impact on homes and businesses.

It would also extend the airport's public transport catchment area to around 9m people within a 90-minute travel time, equivalent to the catchment of Manchester Airport, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Fletcher said a rail link would open a "whole new market" to the airport.

He added: "Not many airports have rail links but those that do have a massive advantage over those who don't."

Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.