Pontefract Line

From TrainSpottingWorld, for Rail fans everywhere

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 . The Metro timetable for the Line also includes services operated as the Dearne Valley Line between York and Sheffield via Pontefract.

The Line, which passes through the former mining areas to the east of Wakefield and Castleford, has the greatest number of stations opened by the West Yorkshire Metro. MetroCards are available on the route as far as Knottingley: a limited service of trains continues to Goole by this route.

The route

History

Railways in the area opened as follows:

  • 1848: the Wakefield, Pontefract and Goole Railway, [27 miles (43km)] in length, opened. This line passed through and served Knottingley, which was then producing some 65 000 tons of burnt lime a year, mainly used for agricultural and building purposes
  • February 1854 the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR)Lancs jointly administered Knottingley station.
  • August 1850: Knottingley to Burton Salmon line opened. Trains were able to run from London to York via Knottingley, which was the station to change to and from trains into the heart of the West Riding, and so it became a major junction.
  • May 1882: The Swinton and Knottingley Railway, connecting Sheffield and York via Pontefract, opened in May 1879; Ferrybridge station opened on the same date.

Before the 1923 Grouping the lines over which the service operates were owned by:

  • Leeds - Methley: Midland Railway (MidR)
  • Methley - Pontefract (Monkhill) - Goole: L&YR
  • Wakefield Westgate station was joint GNR)/L&YR
  • Wakefield - Pontefract (Monkhill): L&YR

Description of route

Leeds-Goole

Trains using the Pontefract Line from Leeds use the same route as the Hallam Line to Methley Junction:

Wakefield-Pontefract

The Wakefield service joins the Leeds service at Pontefract; the station served for this section are:

External links



Railway lines in Northern England:
Main lines:  Cross-Country Route   East Coast Main Line   Midland Main Line   West Coast Main Line
 Chester-Manchester Line    Hope Valley Line   Liverpool-Manchester Line    Manchester-Preston Line   Settle-Carlisle Railway
Commuter lines:  Airedale Line Blackburn-Bolton Line   Caldervale Line   Mid-Cheshire Line   Dearne Valley Line  
 East Lancashire Line   Glossop Line   Hallam Line   Harrogate Line   Huddersfield Line Kirkby Branch Line  
 Lancaster-Heysham Line   Leeds-Bradford Lines   Liverpool-Wigan Line    Manchester Airport Line  
 Manchester-Southport Line   Northern Line   Oldham Loop Line   Northallerton-Eaglescliffe Line  
 Ormskirk Branch Line   Pontefract Line   Sheffield-Hull Line   Sheffield-Lincoln Line   Stockport-Stalybridge Line  
 Wakefield Line   Wharfedale Line   Wirral Line   York & Selby Lines  York-Scarborough Line
Rural lines:  Barton Line   Borderlands Line   Buxton Line   Cumbrian Coast Line   Doncaster-Lincoln Line  
 Durham Coast Line   Esk Valley Line   Tees Valley Line   Furness Line   Hull-York Line   
 Oxenholme-Windermere Line   Penistone Line   Ribble Valley Line   Newcastle and Carlisle Railway  
 Yorkshire Coast Line