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. Metro is the title adopted by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority and Executive in England, made up of councillors from the five local councils: Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield. ... Northern Rail is a train operating company that has operated local services in the north of England since 2004. ... Wakefield Will Marsden and Fiona Nunns met in Wakefield. ... Leeds is a city in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire in the north of England. ... Goole is a town and port located on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in northeast England. ... Pontefract Castle in its heyday Pontefract (from the Latin for Broken Bridge) is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near the A1 (or Great North Road), the M62 motorway, and Castleford. ... The Dearne Valley Line is one of the named British railway lines in the north of England. ... York is a city in northern England, at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss. ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in the north of England. ...

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. Knottingley is a town in the metropolitan district of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the A1 road. ... Goole is a town and port located on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in northeast England. ...

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: 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British railway company, founded by the London & York Railway Act of 1846. ... The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a pre-grouping (1923) British railway company. ... Knottingley is a town in the metropolitan district of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the A1 road. ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in the north of England. ... The Railways Act of 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the countrys one hundred and twenty railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to...

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

Methley is a dispersed village near Leeds, West Yorkshire. ... The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom which existed from 1844 to 1922. ...

Description of route

Leeds-Goole

Trains using the Pontefract Line from Leeds use the same route as the Hallam Line to Methley Junction: The Hallam Line is the name given to one of the rail services, operated by Northern Rail, in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England. ...

• Woodlesford
• here is Methley Junction, where lines of the MidR, L&YR and the Great Northern Railway (GNR) converged.
• Castleford (also on the Hallam line)
• Glasshoughton (reopened 21 February 2005)
• Pontefract Monkhill: unction
• Knottingley: joint L&YR/GNR station. The Dearne Valley Railway has a junction at his point; there was also a line for Doncaster
• Whitley Bridge
• Hensall: here were junctions for the Hull and Barnsley Railway (HBR); and a joint GCR/HBR line
• Snaith
• Rawcliffe
• Goole

The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British railway company, founded by the London & York Railway Act of 1846. ... Castleford Borough Arms Castleford is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near to Pontefract, with a population of approximately 40,000. ... The Hallam Line is the name given to one of the rail services, operated by Northern Rail, in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England. ... Pontefract Castle in its heyday Pontefract (from the Latin for Broken Bridge) is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near the A1 (or Great North Road), the M62 motorway, and Castleford. ... Knottingley is a town in the metropolitan district of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the A1 road. ... Map sources for Doncaster at grid reference SE5702 Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, (and in the former West Riding of Yorkshire), England. ... The Hull and Barnsley Railway (HBR) was opened on July 20, 1885. ... Rawcliffe is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, lying on the banks of the River Aire just north of the M62, approximately 4 miles West of Goole. ... Goole is a town and port located on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in northeast England. ...

Wakefield-Pontefract

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

• Wakefield Westgate (also served by the Huddersfield and Wakefield lines): the station was jointly owned by GCR and GNR; to the south was the West Riding and Grimsby Joint Railway (also owned by those companies)
• leaving Wakefield there were a large number of junctions between there and Crofton
• there were two stations on this line serving Crofton and Sharlston
• Streethouse
• Featherstone
• Pontefract
• Pontefract where the Leeds line joins

Wakefield Westgate is the mainline railway station for the city of Wakefield, West Yorkshire. ... The Huddersfield Line is the name given to one of the rail services in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England: it is one of the busiest on the Metro network. ... The Wakefield line is the name given to one of the rail services in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England. ... Streethouse is a small village to the east of Wakefield, the south of Normanton and the west of Pontefract in West Yorkshire. ... This article is about the town of Featherstone in Yorkshire. ... Pontefract Tanshelf railway station is the most central station in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. ... Pontefract Monkhill railway station is the busiest station in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. ...

External links

• Pontefract Line including map