General information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | Wakefield, City of Wakefield England | ||||
Coordinates | 53°40′44″N1°29′17″W / 53.679°N 1.488°W | ||||
Grid reference | SE339204 | ||||
Managed by | Northern | ||||
Transit authority | West Yorkshire (Metro) | ||||
Platforms | 3 | ||||
Tracks | 4 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | WKK | ||||
Fare zone | 3 | ||||
Classification | DfT category F1 | ||||
History | |||||
Opened | 5 October 1840 | ||||
Original company | Manchester and Leeds Railway | ||||
Pre-grouping | Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway | ||||
Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway | ||||
Key dates | |||||
5 October 1840 | Station opened | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2019/20 | 0.511 million | ||||
2020/21 | 0.115 million | ||||
Interchange | 37,859 | ||||
2021/22 | 0.380 million | ||||
Interchange | 88,600 | ||||
2022/23 | 0.508 million | ||||
Interchange | 82,663 | ||||
2023/24 | 0.539 million | ||||
Interchange | 120,984 | ||||
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Wakefield Kirkgate railway station is a railway station in Wakefield,West Yorkshire,England. Unlike the nearby Wakefield Westgate railway station,Kirkgate is unstaffed. [1] The station is managed by Northern but also served by Grand Central and TransPennine Express. It is on the Hallam,Calder Valley,Pontefract and Huddersfield lines. It has a limited number of services to London King's Cross.
The original Kirkgate station opened by the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1840 was the only station in Wakefield until Westgate was opened in 1867. The railway station building dates from 1854. It is named for the nearby Kirkgate street.
Some demolition work took place in 1972,removing buildings on the island platform and the roof with its original ironwork canopy which covered the whole station. A wall remains as evidence of these buildings. After this,Kirkgate was listed in 1979. [2]
Since Westgate developed as Wakefield's main railway station,Kirkgate was neglected for many years and deteriorated until it was in a poor state of repair. In January 2008 the former goods warehouse was demolished to make way for a depot for Network Rail. [3] In October 2008,part of the station wall collapsed,destroying a parked car. [4]
The station is unstaffed and,despite the presence of CCTV, [1] it suffered from crime. A rape, [5] a serious assault [6] and several robberies took place there. In July 2009,Kirkgate station was visited by Secretary of State for Transport Lord Adonis who dubbed it "the worst medium-large station in Britain". [7] Local consensus was that the state of its facilities discouraged its use. [8]
Following a campaign supported by the Wakefield Express newspaper, [9] plans to redevelop the station [10] were formulated. In July 2011,Wakefield Council was asked to decide upon a £500,000 grant to the environmental regeneration charity Groundwork UK as part of its £4 million Kirkgate project in which new life would be breathed into the area. [11] The proposal was approved and funds raised in March 2013. [12] The work was carried out in two phases between 2013 and 2015. [13]
Work completed by June 2013 included the following items: [14]
A second phase of work,completed in September 2015, [15] [16] included
Grand Central opened a first class lounge for its customers in April 2017. [17]
Historically,figures for annual passenger usage at Kirkgate were comparatively low,with only 769 tickets sold to/from the station in the 2006/07 financial year. [18] However this was because most tickets are bought to "Wakefield Stations",and it was hard to determine the true use of Wakefield Westgate and Kirkgate as separate entities. Following changes in the way the statistics are collected,Kirkgate's usage figure increased significantly to a value which more accurately reflects its true usage. [18] In 2022/23,508,000 journeys to and from the station were estimated along with 82,000 interchanges.
Platform 1 –Served by northbound Northern services to Leeds and Castleford,and also by services to and from York.
Platform 2 –Served by southbound Northern services towards Barnsley,Meadowhall Interchange,Sheffield,Lincoln and Nottingham. The newly introduced TransPennine Express service to Manchester Piccadilly via Huddersfield also calls at this platform four times each day.
Platform 3 –Served by north-eastbound Northern services towards Knottingley,westbound to Wakefield Westgate and Leeds and also several times each day by Grand Central eastbound towards London King's Cross (which then begin a southbound journey after Doncaster) and westbound towards Bradford Interchange via Halifax.
The island platform consisting of platforms 2 and 3,is linked to platform 1 and the station building by a newly refurbished subway,featuring better lighting and new bright white paint. Art panels were added to the subway in February 2017,and a brass band rendition of 'Jerusalem' plays in the background. [19]
Most services through this station are operated by Northern,but others are operated by TransPennine Express and Grand Central.
During the summer,excursion trains using heritage rolling stock run through the station;the Scarborough Spa Express on alternate Thursdays and The Dalesman to Carlisle running over the Settle-Carlisle line on occasional Mondays and Tuesdays. These services are hauled by diesel locomotives through West Yorkshire and changed to steam haulage part way along the routes,usually at Hellifield. [25] [26]
Leeds railway station is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire,England. It is located on New Station Street to the south of City Square,at the foot of Park Row,behind the landmark Queens Hotel. It is one of 20 stations managed by Network Rail. As of December 2023,it was the busiest station in West Yorkshire,as well as in Yorkshire &the Humber,and the entirety of Northern England. It is the second busiest station in the UK outside of London,after Birmingham New Street.
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 Dearne Valley line is the name given to a railway line in the north of England running from York to Sheffield via Pontefract Baghill and Moorthorpe. The route was built over several years and consists of lines built by several railway companies.
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.
Wakefield Westgate railway station is a mainline railway station in Wakefield,West Yorkshire,England. It is 10 miles (16 km) south of Leeds to the west of the city centre,on the Wakefield Line and Leeds branch of the East Coast Main Line.
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.
Doncaster railway station is on the East Coast Main Line serving the city of Doncaster,South Yorkshire,England. It is 155 miles 77 chains (251 km) down the line from London King's Cross and is situated between Retford and York on the main line. It is managed by London North Eastern Railway. It is the second busiest station in South Yorkshire,and the fourth busiest station in Yorkshire &the Humber.
Bradford Interchange is a transport interchange in Bradford,West Yorkshire,England,which consists of a railway station and bus station adjacent. The Interchange,which was designed in 1962,was hailed as a showpiece of European design and was opened on 14 January 1973. It is served by the majority of bus services in the city centre,while the railway station,which is one of two in the city centre,is served by Northern and is also the terminus for Grand Central services from London King's Cross.
Normanton railway station serves the town of Normanton in West Yorkshire,England. It lies 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Leeds railway station on the Hallam Line,which is operated by Northern.
Castleford railway station serves the town of Castleford in West Yorkshire. It lies on the Hallam and Pontefract lines,11 miles (18 km) south-east of Leeds.
Pontefract Monkhill railway station is the busiest station in the market town of Pontefract in West Yorkshire,England. The station is on the Pontefract Line managed by Northern but is also served by Grand Central and is 14 miles (23 km) south east of Leeds.
Knottingley railway station serves the town of Knottingley in West Yorkshire,England. It lies on the Pontefract Line,operated by Northern,and is 16 miles (26 km) south east of Leeds railway station.
Brighouse railway station serves the town of Brighouse in West Yorkshire,England. The station lies on the Calder Valley line running west from Leeds. Opened in 1840,and closed in 1970,it reopened in 2000 and is served by Northern Trains and Grand Central services.
Huddersfield railway station serves the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire,England.
Mirfield railway station serves the town of Mirfield in West Yorkshire,England. It lies on the Huddersfield Line and is managed by Northern and also receives services by Grand Central and also TransPennine Express. The station is 4 miles (6 km) north east from Huddersfield.
Deighton railway station serves the Deighton area of Huddersfield,West Yorkshire,England.
Marsden railway station serves the village of Marsden near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire,England. The station is on the Huddersfield Line,operated by Northern and is about 7 miles (11 km) west of Huddersfield station. It was opened in 1849 by the London &North Western Railway and is the last station before the West Yorkshire boundary with Greater Manchester. The station is operated by Northern Trains,but only Transpennine Express trains call here.
Church Fenton railway station serves the village of Church Fenton in North Yorkshire,England. It is situated where the Cross Country Route from Leeds to York meets the Dearne Valley line from Sheffield to York,just under 10.75 miles (17 km) from York.
Brough railway station serves the town of Brough in the East Riding of Yorkshire,England. It is managed by TransPennine Express,and also served by Northern,Hull Trains and London North Eastern Railway.
The Askern branch line is a railway line which runs in North,South and West Yorkshire in England. The stretch of track runs from Shaftholme Junction north of Doncaster,via Askern,Norton and Womersley to Knottingley,where it joins the Pontefract Line.
Media related to Wakefield Kirkgate railway station at Wikimedia Commons