Wakefield line

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Wakefield line
Outwood Railway Station (geograph 6409080).jpg
A Northern electric service from Leeds to Doncaster at Outwood
Overview
Owner Network Rail
Locale
Termini
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map
Wakefield line.png
(Click to expand)

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. [1] The line was electrified in 1989, between Leeds & Wakefield Westgate, as part of the programme to electrify the East Coast Main Line. [2] [3]

Contents

The service connects Leeds and Wakefield with Sheffield and Doncaster with the section of the line between Leeds and Doncaster forming part of the East Coast Main Line. [4] The local stopping service is operated by Northern with services between Leeds, Wakefield and either Doncaster or Sheffield. Inter-city operators are London North Eastern Railway, East Midlands Railway and CrossCountry who provide services from Leeds to London and the South of England.

Some sections of the line are shared with the Huddersfield (orange) and Pontefract lines (light blue).

West Yorkshire "Metrocards" are available for all trains as far as South Elmsall on the Doncaster section of the line and to Moorthorpe on the Sheffield section. [5]

Pre-nationalisation ownership

At the time of the 1923 Grouping the line was owned by different railway companies:

Great Northern Railway (GNR) – with Wakefield Westgate station being jointly owned by the GNR and Great Central Railways (GCR).

West Riding and Grimsby Joint Railway (WRGJt) itself being of joint Great Northern Railway and Great Central Railway ownership.

Swinton & Knottingley Joint Railway itself being of joint Midland Railway (MidR) and North Eastern Railway (NER) ownership.

Midland Railway (MidR)

The route

Trains on the line serve the following places; however, some stations have closed:

Leeds City–Fitzwilliam

Ardsley Tunnel

At Outwood there were junctions with two joint undertakings; East & West Yorkshire Union (a short line connecting the Great Northern / Midland Railway main lines via Rothwell and Methley Joint Railway (owners being Great Northern, Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and North Eastern Railway) connecting to various lines in the Castleford area.

Wrenthorpe Junction

From this junction was a line to Dewsbury which was partially closed in 1963 and complete closure came in 1965 – some artefacts still remain to this day.

Nostell North & South Junctions with Great Central Railway

Junction with the Hull and Barnsley Railway (HBR)

Junction with Sheffield branch to the south

Fitzwilliam–Doncaster

Fitzwilliam–Swinton

Part of this section is also worked as the Dearne Valley line:

Branch line to Frickley Colliery

Hickleton Junction for the Dearne Valley Railway (worked by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway)

Junction with the Great Central Railway Penistone–Doncaster line.

Swinton–Sheffield

From Swinton towards Sheffield, the Midland Railway and Great Central had parallel lines following the course of the River Don. The lines of the competing companies were so close that in 1965 British Railways built a new junction complex at Aldwarke and the current Wakefield Line now follows the former Great Central line to reach the reopened Rotherham Central. Intermediate stations were to be found at:

Taking a new curve, the line joins the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway.

Grimesthorpe Junction the line leaves the Sheffield & Rotherham and takes the Midland Railway line built in 1870.

Route maps of the route 1910–1913

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wakefield Westgate railway station</span> Railway station in West Yorkshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Midland Railway</span>

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Goldthorpe railway station serves the village of Goldthorpe, in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Wakefield Line 14.25 miles (23 km) north of Sheffield railway station. It was opened in May 1988.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandal and Agbrigg railway station</span> Railway station in West Yorkshire, England

Sandal and Agbrigg railway station serves the Wakefield suburbs of Sandal and Agbrigg in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Wakefield Line and is operated by Northern.

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Outwood railway station is situated in the Outwood district of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Riding and Grimsby Railway</span>

The West Riding and Grimsby Railway was a railway company that promoted a line between Wakefield and Doncaster, in Yorkshire, England. There was also a branch line connection from Adwick le Street to Stainforth, which gave access towards Grimsby. The company was promoted independently, but it was sponsored by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and the Great Northern Railway, and became jointly owned by them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnsley Coal Railway</span>

The Barnsley Coal Railway was a short railway which, when fully opened, ran between Stairfoot Junction, on the Mexborough to Barnsley line of the South Yorkshire Railway (SYR) and a triangular junction at Nostell on the line of the West Riding and Grimsby Railway (WR&GR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway</span> Railway line in West and South Yorkshire, England

The Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway was a British railway company formed to connect the Midland and Great Central lines at Swinton, north of Rotherham, with the North Eastern Railway at Ferrybridge, near Knottingley, a distance of 16 miles (26 km), opening up a more direct route between York and the Sheffield area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ardsley railway station</span> Disused railway station in West Yorkshire, England

Ardsley railway station was situated on the Great Northern Railway between Tingley and Lofthouse and Outwood on the main line and west of Stanley on the LNER & LMS Methley Joint Railway. It was built to serve the village of East Ardsley near Wakefield in the English county of West Yorkshire.

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.

Aldwarke Junction at Parkgate near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England is a major railway junction. It was constructed in 1965 as a part of the Sheffield district rail rationalisation plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway</span>

The Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds Railway was an independent railway company that built a line between Wakefield and a junction close to Leeds, in Yorkshire, England. It opened its main line in 1857, and was worked by the Great Northern Railway. The line shortened the GNR route to Leeds.

References

  1. ↑ "Rail network map Metro". wymetro.com. Retrieved 18 January 2016.[ dead link ]
  2. ↑ "Leeds West". www.lostrailwayswestyorkshire.co.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Intercity 225: Fastest in the fleet". BBC. 17 October 2000. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Moving ahead – Route Plan G East Coast" (PDF). Network Rail. NR. 2010. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "MetroCard – bus travel with rail zones 2–5". www.wymetro.com. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
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