Penistone Line | |||
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Overview | |||
Status | Operational | ||
Owner | Network Rail | ||
Locale | |||
Termini | |||
Service | |||
Type | Heavy rail | ||
System | National Rail | ||
Operator(s) | Northern Trains | ||
Rolling stock | Class 150 | ||
Technical | |||
Number of tracks | Single-track with passing loops | ||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | ||
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Penistone Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Penistone Line [1] is operated by Northern Trains in the West Yorkshire Metro and Travel South Yorkshire areas of northern England. It connects Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley, serving many rural communities. Metrocards (Zone 5) can be used for travel between Huddersfield and Denby Dale and intermediate stations.
The first section of line between Huddersfield and Penistone was opened on 1 July 1850 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR). From the joint L&YR/London and North Western Railway Huddersfield station, trains ran south to Springwood Junction (south of Huddersfield) on the London and North Western Railway Leeds–Manchester main line, where the L&YR line began; from there the route was as follows:
The southern part of that section follows the upper reaches of the River Don.
At Penistone, the route joins the former Great Central Railway (GCR) line from Manchester via the Woodhead Tunnel, travelling eastwards. It deviates from the former main line towards Sheffield Victoria at a point once known as Barnsley Junction, and heads towards that town beyond which it takes a circuitous route via Wombwell before going south to Sheffield. The route is as follows:
Up until 1983, trains between Huddersfield and Sheffield travelled due south from Penistone direct to Sheffield via the old GCR line. The diversion to Barnsley officially opened in May 1983, and originally, the line was marketed with the brand name of The Hurrier. [2]
The 32.6-km section of line from Springwood Junction (between Huddersfield and Lockwood) to Barnsley Station Junction (between Dodworth and Barnsley) constitutes Network Rail route LNE 15A.
Location | M-Ch | km |
---|---|---|
Barnsley | −0-11 | −0.20 |
Barnsley Station Junction | 0-00 | 0.00 |
Dodworth | 2-64 | 4.50 |
Silkstone Common | 4-22 | 6.90 |
Penistone | 7-25 | 11.75 |
Denby Dale | 11-30 | 18.30 |
Clayton West Junction | 12-73 | 20.80 |
Shepley | 13-47 | 21.85 |
Stocksmoor | 14-35 | 23.25 |
Brockholes | 16-36 | 26.45 |
Berry Brow | 18-35 | 29.65 |
Lockwood | 19-43 | 31.45 |
Springwood Junction | 20-21 | 32.60 |
Huddersfield | + 0-40 | + 0.80 |
The Penistone Line Partnership, representing local interests, is a long-time supporter of services on the route and has provided music and real-ale trains.
In November 2005, the line was named as a pilot project within the Department for Transport's Community Rail Strategy. The section from Barnsley to Huddersfield was designated a community rail line in May 2006. This led to line speed improvements at Cumberworth Tunnel and improved reliability. Passenger numbers have continued to grow to a record 1,030,000 in 2005 – a stark contrast from the late 1970s and early 1980s when the line was under threat of closure due to falling levels of patronage and the possible loss of revenue support from both PTEs. [3]
The entire Barnsley to Huddersfield route was originally double tracked. However, following modernisation works in 1983 and 1989, it was reduced to a single line, apart from a pair of crossing loops at Penistone and between Stocksmoor and Shepley. Control was split between the Huddersfield and Barnsley signal boxes but, by 2018, the Rail Operating Centre at York was to take over the signalling of the entire route. [4]
On 18 March 2008, the Department for Transport released details of a proposal to trial tram-trains on the Penistone Line, the first use of such vehicles in the UK. The trial was to start in 2010 and last for two years. Northern Rail, the operator of passenger services on the line, asked potential manufacturers to tender for the design and construction of five new vehicles, which Northern Rail would subsequently lease. In addition, Network Rail planned to spend £15 million modifying track and stations to make them compatible with the new vehicles. [5]
However, it was announced on 15 September 2009 that a city tram-train trial between Rotherham and Sheffield would replace the Penistone Line scheme. [6]
The lines previously controlled from Huddersfield and Healey Mills signal boxes are now supervised by the 'Huddersfield' workstation in York ROC, .... with Barnsley on the single track Penistone line in the south... Control from York ROC is by Siemens Controlguide Westcad to renewed remote interlockings at Healey Mills, Thornhill LNW, Heaton Lodge, Greetland and Huddersfield, and will in due course be enabled with Automatic Route Setting (ARS).
Penistone is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 24,760 at the 2021 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is 8 miles (13 km) west of Barnsley, 17 miles (27 km) north-east of Glossop, 14.2 miles (23 km) north-west of Sheffield, 27 miles (43 km) south-west of Leeds and 29 miles (47 km) east of Manchester in the foothills of the Pennines. The town is frequently noted on lists of unusual place names.
The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is a metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England; the main settlement is Barnsley and other notable towns include Penistone, Wombwell and Hoyland.
The Huddersfield line is the main railway line between the English cities of Leeds and Manchester, via Huddersfield. It is one of the busiest MetroTrain lines. The route travels south-south-west from Leeds through Dewsbury. After a short westward stretch through Mirfield, where it runs on the ex-L&YR section, it continues south-west through Huddersfield, using the Colne Valley to its headwaters. The long Standedge Tunnel, just after Marsden, crosses under the watershed; the majority of the run down to Manchester is in the Tame Valley. From Manchester, some services continue to Manchester Airport and others to Liverpool.
The Hallam Line is a railway connecting Leeds and Sheffield via Castleford in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England. It is a slower route from Leeds to Sheffield than the Wakefield line. Services on this line are operated by Northern Trains. Services from Leeds to Nottingham also use the line.
The Wakefield line is a railway line and service in the West Yorkshire Metro and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive areas of northern England. The Wakefield line is coloured yellow on maps and publications by West Yorkshire Metro. The line was electrified in 1989, between Leeds & Wakefield Westgate, as part of the programme to electrify the East Coast Main Line.
Meadowhall Interchange is a transport interchange located in north-east Sheffield, consisting of a combined heavy rail station, tram stop and bus and coach station. The second-busiest heavy rail station in the city in terms of passenger numbers, Meadowhall Interchange provides connections between National Rail services, the Sheffield Supertram light rail network, intercity coach services and the city bus network.
The Pontefract line is one of the rail services in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England. The service is operated by Northern, and links Wakefield and Leeds with Goole via Pontefract. The Metro timetable for the line also includes services operated as the Dearne Valley line between York and Sheffield via Pontefract.
The Woodhead line was a railway line linking Sheffield, Penistone and Manchester in the north of England. A key feature of the route is the passage under the high moorlands of the northern Peak District through the Woodhead Tunnels. The line was electrified in 1953 and closed between Hadfield and Penistone in 1981.
Penistone railway station serves the town of Penistone, in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. The current station, at the junction of the Woodhead Line and Penistone Line, opened in 1874; it replaced a station solely on the Woodhead Line, dating from the line's opening by the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1845.
Barnsley Interchange is a combined rail and bus station in the centre of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. It was first opened in 1850 as Barnsley Exchange railway station and is 16 miles (26 km) north of Sheffield. It is on the Hallam and Penistone Lines, both operated by Northern Trains. On 20 May 2007, the new bus station and refurbished railway station were officially opened by Travel South Yorkshire, with the combined facility renamed to Barnsley Interchange.
The present Silkstone Common railway station, which opened by British Rail on 14 May 1983 serves the village of Silkstone Common, near Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The station is 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Barnsley on the Penistone Line between Huddersfield and Sheffield.
Lockwood railway station is a railway station in Huddersfield, England. It is situated 1.5 miles (2 km) south of Huddersfield station on the Penistone Line between Huddersfield and Sheffield. It serves the Lockwood district of Huddersfield, and services are provided by Northern.
Denby Dale railway station serves the village of Denby Dale, in West Yorkshire, England and the surrounding area. It lies on the Penistone Line 9.5 miles (15 km) south east of Huddersfield and is operated by Northern.
The Manchester–Sheffield–Wath electric railway was an electrification scheme on British railways. The route featured long ascents on both sides of the Pennines with the long Woodhead Tunnel at its central summit close to the Woodhead pass. This led to the route being called the Woodhead Line.
Over the latter years of the 19th and early years of the 20th centuries, Penistone in Yorkshire gained a name as an accident black-spot on Britain's railway network; indeed, it could be said to hold the title of the worst accident black-spot in the country. The main line through the town was the Woodhead route of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway between Sheffield Victoria and Manchester, London Road. The line was heavily graded with a summit some 400 yards inside the eastern portal of the Woodhead tunnel.
The South Yorkshire Railway was a railway company with lines in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England.
The Holmfirth branch line is a disused railway line that ran for 2 miles (3.2 km) from Brockholes to Holmfirth, in West Yorkshire, England. The line was built as double track as there were plans to extend the line up the Holme Valley.
Moor End goods station was in South Yorkshire, England. It was originally the terminus of the Worsborough branch line which ran from the main line of the South Yorkshire Railway at Wombwell. The lower part of the line to Worsborough was opened in June 1850, reaching Moor End two years later, in March 1852. An inclined plane connected the nearby House Carr Colliery with Silkstone Common. By the end of the 19th century this had been replaced by an ordinary railway line, continuing the Worsborough branch to West Silkstone Junction.
The Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Goole Railway was an early British railway company. The company obtained an act in 1846 for 26 miles of railway, with a main section from Wakefield to Doncaster via Barnsley.
The Clayton West branch line was a standard gauge passenger and freight railway near Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire, England. The line was built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, opening to traffic in September 1879. Many proposals were considered to extending the line eastwards towards Darton, and then connecting to Barnsley, but these never came to fruition. In 1963, both stations on the line,, were listed for closure under the Beeching cuts, but the branch survived as a passenger carrying railway until 1983. The branch also forwarded coal from two collieries adjacent to the line, which maintained a freight service on the branch up until closure.