Editing Meadowhall Interchange (section)

==History==
===Previous stations===
The first station to be named after the Meadowhall area, [[Meadowhall & Wincobank railway station|Meadowhall & Wincobank]], was opened in 1868 by the [[South Yorkshire Railway]] on the Blackburn Valley Line from [[Sheffield Victoria railway station|Sheffield Victoria]] to [[Barnsley Interchange|Barnsley]]. Meadowhall & Wincobank station closed in 1953 and the track was eventually lifted and converted into a [[cycle path]] in 1987, although the station building survives in good condition.

Upon opening in 1990, Meadowhall Interchange effectively replaced [[Brightside railway station|Brightside station]], located around {{convert|1|mi|km|1}} further down the line towards [[Sheffield railway station|Sheffield]]. However, limited services continued to serve Brightside for several years after the opening of Meadowhall Interchange, with Brightside station finally closing in 1995.

{{s-rail-start|noclear=yes}}
{{Historical Rail Insert}}
{{rail line |next={{stnlnk|Rotherham Central}}<br /><small>Line and station open</small> |previous={{stnlnk|Brightside}}<br /><small>Line open, station closed</small> |route=[[Regional Railways]] |col={{RR colour}} }}
{{s-end}}

===Construction and opening===
[[File:Sheffield Supertram - Meadowhall Interchange 07-07-04.jpg|thumb|right|Supertram platforms in 2004]]
In 1989, the [[South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive]] received a [[European Regional Development Fund]] grant for 50% of the cost of Meadowhall Interchange.<ref>[https://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/19th-october-1989/20/ec-backs-s-yorks EC backs S Yorks] ''[[Commercial Motor]]'' 19 October 1989</ref><ref>Intelligence ''[[Railway Gazette International]]'' November 1989 page 766</ref>

Meadowhall Interchange was constructed to serve the new [[Meadowhall (shopping centre)|Meadowhall]] shopping centre, which opened on 4 September 1990 on the former site of steelworks in the Don Valley in north-east Sheffield.<ref>Around the Regions ''[[Rail (magazine)|Rail]]'' issue 132 4 October 1990 page 20</ref> The interchange was constructed to the north of the shopping centre on the opposite bank of the [[River Don, South Yorkshire|River Don]], with a pedestrian suspension bridge linking the interchange with the shopping centre. The heavy rail and bus and coach stations opened in 1990.

The [[Sheffield Supertram]] light rail platforms opened on 21 March 1994. The section of line from Meadowhall to Fitzalan Square, in the city centre, was the first phase of the network to open.

===Future===
Meadowhall Interchange was selected as the initial site for Sheffield's [[High Speed 2]] station, with a high-level viaduct station planned to be constructed parallel to the [[M1 motorway]]'s [[Tinsley Viaduct]] adjacent to the mainline station.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-21231458 "Meadowhall to get Sheffield's HS2 high-speed rail station"] ''[[BBC News]]'' 28 January 2013</ref><ref>{{Cite map|year=2012|title=Route HSL15 and HSL28 Plan and Profile Sheet|scale=1:5000|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69019/hs2-arp-lr0-dr-rt-55151_3-0.pdf}}</ref> However, these plans were eventually dropped, with plans for High Speed 2 services to instead serve Sheffield station in the city centre.<ref>[https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-sheffield-and-south-yorkshire-report-2016 "HS2: Sheffield and South Yorkshire Report 2016 (Research & Analysis)"]''High Speed 2 Ltd'' 7 July 2016; Retrieved 19 July 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-36716526 "HS2 South Yorkshire route change threatens new estate"] ''BBC News Sheffield & South Yorkshire'' news article 7 July 2016; Retrieved 19 July 2016</ref>

As part of the plans for High Speed 2, proposals were put forward for the construction of a new [[Sheffield Supertram|Supertram]] line from Meadowhall Interchange to [[Dore & Totley railway station|Dore & Totley station]] in the south-west of the city.<ref>[http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/new-sheffield-supertram-line-in-transport-revolution-1-5359408 "New Sheffield Supertram line in ‘transport revolution’"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416063758/http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/new-sheffield-supertram-line-in-transport-revolution-1-5359408 |date=16 April 2015 }}''The Star'' news article 28 January 2013</ref>