What are my Sheffield to Manchester train options?

You'll usually find three Sheffield to Manchester train services per hour. TransPennine Express, East Midlands Railway and Northern operate one per hour each.

TPE and East Midlands Railway operate the 'fast' trains, while Northern serves local stations along the route. Let's have a look at each operator and how long they take.

TransPennine Express

You'll find one TransPennine Express train per hour. They stop at Stockport on the way. During peak times, some trains also stop at Dore & Totley. In Manchester, these trains serve both Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations. The typical journey time is around 55 minutes. Here are the fares that you can expect to pay on the day:

• Anytime Short Return - £39.00
• Off-Peak Return - £27.90.

The Off-Peak Return is valid after 08:30 on weekdays and at any time on weekends and Bank Holidays. It's valid on all operators on the Sheffield to Manchester route.

East Midlands Railway

You'll find one East Midlands Railway train per hour. They stop at Stockport on the way. During peak times, some trains also stop at Dore & Totley and the first/last trains of the day serve all local stops on the route between Chinley and Sheffield. In Manchester, these trains serve both Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations.

The typical journey time is around 55 minutes. You'll pay the same on-the-day fare as the fares for TransPennine Express above.

Northern

There's one Northern train per hour. They serve most local stations on the Sheffield to Manchester train route via New Mills Central. The typical journey time is around 1h20m. Here are the fares that you can expect to pay on the day:

• Anytime Short Return - £29.30
• Off-Peak Return - £22.10
• Off-Peak Day Return - £21.40
• Duo - £32.40.

The Off-Peak tickets in the list are valid after 08:59 on weekdays and at any time on weekends and Bank Holidays.

The Duo ticket is valid for two adults travelling together for the entire journey. It's valid after 09:00 on weekdays and at any time on weekends and Bank Holidays. Additionally, you're not allowed to return between 16:01 and 17:59 on weekdays. All of the tickets listed above are for Northern trains only.

How can I get the best Sheffield to Manchester train fare?

You can get the best Sheffield to Manchester train fare on Railsmartr! We'll show you all of your options, including the slower ones. In particular, it's always worth booking online, even if it's just a short time in advance, if you're making a one-way trip. Let's see what kind of fares we can find two weeks in advance:

As you can see, Northern is the cheapest option, followed by East Midlands Railway, followed by TransPennine Express. It's usually the case that Northern is the cheapest, but the cheapest 'fast' train can depend on when you look and how busy each train is expected to be. Let's see what we get if we want to travel in two hours:

As you can see, the pattern that we saw previously remains. The £11.30 fare on East Midlands Railway is less than half of the £26.60 fare that you'd pay at the station, so it pays to pop onto the Railsmartr site, even at the last minute, and especially for one-way trips.

What are the trains like?

Let's take a look at what you can expect on board when you travel on a Sheffield to Manchester train.

TransPennine Express

Taking TransPennine Express? You'll have a Class 185 train. They have three or six carriages and seats are in a 2+2 layout in Standard Class:

You'll find a three-pin socket and USB port at every window seat. If you're travelling in First Class, then you'll find seats in a 2+1 layout and an at-seat catering service with complimentary refreshments during the daytime.

This is the only Sheffield to Manchester train service with seat reservations and first-class accommodation. If your train has six coaches, then all reservations will be in the front three coaches. The rear set of carriages is always fully unreserved.

Northern

Most Northern services are operated by a Class 195 'Civity' train. The ones on the Sheffield to Manchester route normally have three carriages. They have Standard Class seating throughout and all seating is in a 2+2 layout:

You'll find one three-pin socket under each pair of seats. There aren't any seat reservations on these trains, so you can sit in any seat.

East Midlands Railway

You'll find a variety of two, three and four-carriage trains on East Midlands Railway services. They all have Standard Class seating throughout, which is in a 2+2 formation. Some trains have a USB socket at every window seat, while others don't have any power sockets at all.

In the coming months, East Midlands Railway will be starting a refurbishment programme of their regional trains. Reservations were abolished on this service during COVID-19 and they haven't returned, so you can sit in any available seat.

Is there anything else I should know?

The final thing we’d recommend is using the Railsmartr website to book your Sheffield to Manchester train tickets. We’re completely independent, so we’re happy to ‘tell you like it is’ when it comes to rail fares!

Don’t forget that we don’t charge any fees, either. That includes if you change your mind and want to travel on a different day. If your ticket is refundable, we’ll refund it fee-free, too.

_{^{All fares stated on this page are for ONE adult with no Railcard discount and were correct as of 09/04/2024. All information is issued in good faith. They’re subject to change at any time and Railsmartr are not responsible for any loss or disappointment incurred as a result of the information provided.}}