Huddersfield railway station

Last updated

Huddersfield
National Rail logo.svg
Huddersfield Station.jpg
St George's Square entrance
General information
Location Huddersfield, Kirklees,
England
Coordinates 53°38′53″N1°47′06″W / 53.648°N 1.785°W / 53.648; -1.785
Grid reference SE143168
Managed by TransPennine Express
Transit authority West Yorkshire (Metro)
Platforms6
Other information
Station codeHUD
Fare zone5
Classification DfT category B
History
Original company London and North Western Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway/Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (joint)
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
3 August 1847Station opened [1]
Passengers
2019/20Decrease2.svg 4.769 million
A westbound TransPennine Express service Huddersfield - TPE 185126 Manchester Airport service.JPG
A westbound TransPennine Express service

The station is served by two train operating companies, with the following off-peak weekday service in trains per hour:

TransPennine Express [18]

Northern Trains : [19]

In keeping with the on-site Head of Steam railway pub, several steam trains still pass through Huddersfield station, including the Cotton Mill Express and the Scarborough Flyer. [20]

Preceding station  National Rail logo.svg National Rail  Following station
TransPennine Express
Terminus Northern Trains
Northern Trains
Northern Trains
Disused railways
L&YR Terminus

Station cats

Felix by the door of the station offices on platform 1 Felix the station cat.jpg
Felix by the door of the station offices on platform 1

Felix, the first station cat at Huddersfield for at least 30 years, joined the staff as a nine-week-old kitten in 2011. [21] She subsequently patrolled the station to keep it free from rodents, and had her own cat-flap to bypass the ticket barriers. [22] In 2016 Felix was promoted to Senior Pest Controller [23] and local artist Rob Martin painted a portrait of her which now hangs in the station. [24] In 2019, Transpennine Express named a Class 68 locomotive (68031) after Felix. [25]

A second station cat, Bolt, joined the staff in September 2018 as an eight-week-old kitten. [26] [27]

The two cats featured in calendars and two books, raising more than £266,000 for charity. [28]

Felix died on 3 December 2023 after the discovery of tumours which led to medical complications. [28]

On 9 July 2025, Bolt's retirement from the station was announced. [29] [30] [31]

See also

References

  1. Bairstow, Martin (1993). The Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction Railway. Martin Bairstow. ISBN   1-871944-08-2.
  2. 1 2 Historic England. "Railway Station (Grade I) (1277385)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  3. Stocks, William (June 1956). "Huddersfield Station". The Railway Magazine . Vol. 102, no. 662. London: IPC. p. 378. ISSN   0033-8923.
  4. Rennison, Robert William (1996). Civil Engineering Heritage (2nd ed.). London: Thomas Telford. pp. 187–188. ISBN   0-7277-2518-1.
  5. Tuffrey, Peter (4 June 2019). "A Splendid Station". The Yorkshire Post. Picture Past. p. 11. ISSN   0963-1496.
  6. Pevsner, Nikolaus (2001). Ratcliffe, Enid (ed.). Yorkshire : the West Riding (2 ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 64. ISBN   0-14-071017-5.
  7. Jenkins, Simon (1 October 2017). "10 of the best railway stations in Britain". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  8. Access improvements complete at Huddersfield Station (Huddersfield Examiner, 20 August 2010)
  9. Above and beyond unveils plans for Huddersfield railway station revamp (Huddersfield Examiner, 5 September 2009)
  10. Ticket barriers go in at Huddersfield railway station (Huddersfield Examiner, 13 May 2013)
  11. Huddersfield to Leeds, Transpennine Route Upgrade project. Accessed 2023-01-20
  12. Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury), Transpennine Route Upgrade, Network Rail
  13. "Huddersfield and Dewsbury stations close for signal works" BBC News article 5 August 2017
  14. Huddersfield Station design and access statement, TWAO submission document NR15a, Network Rail, March 2021: page 46 (frame 50 of pdf), section 5.6.3
  15. 1 2 3 4 Transpennine Express, Huddersfield Station Works, accessed on 5 October 2025
  16. "Concert for Alyson's cause". Huddersfield Examiner. 6 March 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  17. Huddersfield station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 16 January 2017
  18. "Timetables". Tpexpress.co.uk. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  19. "Train Timetables". Northernrailway.co.uk. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  20. UK Steam "Main line Steam Tour Programme 2010", 2010 listing.
  21. "Huddersfield Railway Station welcomes a new member of staff – Felix the station cat" Douglas, Joanne Huddersfield Examiner 21 November 2011
  22. "Felix the cat gets special entrance at Huddersfield station after coming unstuck at new barriers" James, Richard Metro.co.uk 14 June 2013
  23. "Felix the Huddersfield station cat gets a purr-motion" Beever, Susie Huddersfield Examiner 2 February 2016
  24. Douglas, Joanne (30 November 2016). "New oil portrait unveiled of Felix the cat". Huddersfield Examiner. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  25. Beever, Susie (5 March 2019). "Felix the Huddersfield Station Cat now has a train named after her". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  26. Beever, Susie (2 September 2018). "Huddersfield Station take on SECOND cat as Felix's apprentice". Huddersfield Examiner. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  27. Bevis, Gavin (29 December 2019). "The commuter cats who became fur-mous". BBC News. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  28. 1 2 Holden, Michael (5 December 2023). "West Yorkshire railway station cat dies from terminal illness". RailAdvent. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  29. "Popular Huddersfield Railway Station cat Bolt retires". ITV News. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  30. Jones, Steve (9 July 2025). "Much-loved railway station cat takes retirement". BBC News. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  31. "A legendary duo departs: Station manager and Bolt the cat say goodbye to Huddersfield station". TransPennine Express. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.