Northern is set to double seat capacity for services through the Hope Valley this summer in a bid to take more cars off the road in the Peak District

The stunning Hope Valley line which runs between Manchester and Sheffield provides direct access to extremely popular outdoor stops set amongst breathtaking surroundings such as Grindleford, Hathersage, Bamford, Hope and Edale.

Usually, Northern operates a three-carriage service but through weekends, the majority of those services will be doubled up to become six-carriage trains which will operate in each direction.

Northern revealed the news in March when they signed a deal with Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire to become one of its new strategic partners.

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: “Northern is committed to working with partner organisations to promote tourism in the Peak District and Derbyshire.

“We want to help increase the value of the area’s visitor economy and raise its profile as a world-class visitor destination – and the more cars we can take off the road as part of that project the better.”

Jo Dilley, managing director of Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire, said: “We’re delighted that our strategic partners at Northern are increasing capacity on services through the Hope Valley for the coming summer season, offering easy car-free access to some of the Peak District’s best-loved places.

“Having increased capacity not only helps to lessen the impact of cars in these sensitive locations, reducing congestion and pollution, it also opens up possibilities for walkers being able to use them to enjoy circular routes, helping us develop more active travel choices for everyone to enjoy.”

As Britain’s first National Park, the Peak District offers a host of delights for visitors from rugged hillsides, steep valleys, staggering vistas, an abundance of history and delicious local food.

Operating over 2,000 services each day to more than 540 stations throughout the North of England, Northern is the second-largest rail operator in the country.