Pontefract Monkhill railway station
Encyclopedia
Pontefract Monkhill railway station is the busiest station in the town of Pontefract
, West Yorkshire
, England
. The station is on the Pontefract Line
operated by Northern Rail
and is 14 miles (22.5 km) south east of Leeds.
The other stations in the town are Pontefract Tanshelf
and Pontefract Baghill
.
and Wakefield Kirkgate separate immediately west of the station, which was opened by the Wakefield, Pontefract & Goole Railway (one of the constituent companies of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
) in April 1848. The branch to Castleford (Cutsyke) & Methley Junction was completed the following year (on 1 December) and a pair of short curves were subsequently constructed from the eastern end to link up with the Swinton & Knottingley Joint line following its opening in the spring of 1879. One of these was used by passenger trains between Leeds & Pontefract Baghill until 1964, although it has since been lifted. The Wakefield to Goole
passenger service was withdrawn on 2 January 1967 (although trains to and from Goole continued, running instead to Castleford & Leeds) but the line remained open to carry coal to the power stations to the east of Knottingley
. Services on this route were subsequently restored in May 1992.
in one direction and two trains per hour to Knottingley
in the other. Only one train a day now runs through to Goole.
Sundays there is a two-hourly service to Leeds and Knottingley.
(ORR) to operate a service between Bradford Interchange and London Kings Cross which will call here (giving the station a regular service to the capital for the first time). Three daily paths in each direction are allocated for these new trains, although one morning northbound service uses a different route between Doncaster & Wakefield and consequently does not call here.
The service is operated and branded by Grand Central, using refurbished Class 180
units, and started on 23 May 2010. However, according to a recent document submitted the ORR, only 15 passengers a day (on average) are making use of the new service. This is well below the minimum level needed for profitability and this has consequently led the company to ask for permission to withdraw the service at the May 2011 timetable change and divert its remaining trains via Adwick & Bentley. This has not (as of November 2011) been forthcoming though and so for the time being the service remains in operation.
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The station is on the Pontefract Line
Pontefract Line
The Pontefract Line is the name given to one of the rail services in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England. The service is operated by Northern Rail, and links Wakefield and Leeds with Goole via Pontefract...
operated by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
and is 14 miles (22.5 km) south east of Leeds.
The other stations in the town are Pontefract Tanshelf
Pontefract Tanshelf railway station
Pontefract Tanshelf railway station is the most central station in the town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England, and serves Pontefract Races, the racecourse located just down the street from the station. It lies on the Pontefract Line operated by Northern Rail and is east of Wakefield Kirkgate...
and Pontefract Baghill
Pontefract Baghill railway station
Pontefract Baghill railway station is the least busy of the three railway stations in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. The other stations, Monkhill and Tanshelf, both lie on the Pontefract Line, while Baghill lies on the Dearne Valley Line south of York towards Sheffield...
.
History
The lines to Leeds via CastlefordCastleford
Castleford is the largest of the "five towns" district in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It is near Pontefract, and has a population of 37,525 according to the 2001 Census, but has seen a rise in recent years and is now around 45-50,000. To the north...
and Wakefield Kirkgate separate immediately west of the station, which was opened by the Wakefield, Pontefract & Goole Railway (one of the constituent companies of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
) in April 1848. The branch to Castleford (Cutsyke) & Methley Junction was completed the following year (on 1 December) and a pair of short curves were subsequently constructed from the eastern end to link up with the Swinton & Knottingley Joint line following its opening in the spring of 1879. One of these was used by passenger trains between Leeds & Pontefract Baghill until 1964, although it has since been lifted. The Wakefield to Goole
Goole railway station
Goole railway station serves the town of Goole in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.The service is operated and the station is managed by Northern Rail...
passenger service was withdrawn on 2 January 1967 (although trains to and from Goole continued, running instead to Castleford & Leeds) but the line remained open to carry coal to the power stations to the east of Knottingley
Knottingley
Knottingley is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the A1 road. It has a population of 13,503....
. Services on this route were subsequently restored in May 1992.
Services
There is an hourly service from Monkhill to both Leeds and Wakefield KirkgateWakefield Kirkgate railway station
Wakefield Kirkgate railway station is a railway station in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Unlike the nearby Wakefield Westgate railway station, Kirkgate is unstaffed and served mostly by local trains...
in one direction and two trains per hour to Knottingley
Knottingley railway station
Knottingley railway station serves the town of Knottingley in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Pontefract Line, operated by Northern Rail, and is south east of Leeds railway station....
in the other. Only one train a day now runs through to Goole.
Sundays there is a two-hourly service to Leeds and Knottingley.
London
In January 2009, open access operator Grand Northern was given the go ahead by the Office of Rail RegulationOffice of Rail Regulation
The Office of Rail Regulation is a statutory board which is the combined economic and safety regulatory authority for Great Britain's railway network. It was established on 5 July 2004 by the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, replacing the Rail Regulator...
(ORR) to operate a service between Bradford Interchange and London Kings Cross which will call here (giving the station a regular service to the capital for the first time). Three daily paths in each direction are allocated for these new trains, although one morning northbound service uses a different route between Doncaster & Wakefield and consequently does not call here.
The service is operated and branded by Grand Central, using refurbished Class 180
British Rail Class 180
The Class 180 is a type of British diesel multiple unit train built by Alstom between 2000 and 2001 for use on then-new express services by First Great Western . They were built at Washwood Heath in Birmingham and are part of the Coradia 1000 family along with the Class 175. FGW stopped using the...
units, and started on 23 May 2010. However, according to a recent document submitted the ORR, only 15 passengers a day (on average) are making use of the new service. This is well below the minimum level needed for profitability and this has consequently led the company to ask for permission to withdraw the service at the May 2011 timetable change and divert its remaining trains via Adwick & Bentley. This has not (as of November 2011) been forthcoming though and so for the time being the service remains in operation.
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