Cross Gates railway station

Cross Gates railway station serves Cross Gates, an area in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Selby Line, operated by Northern 4.25 miles (7 km) east of Leeds railway station.

Cross Gates
Northern Class 158 Stands on Platform 2 Working a York - Blackpool Service
LocationCross Gates, City of Leeds
England
Coordinates53.805°N 1.450°W / 53.805; -1.450
Grid referenceSE363344
Managed byNorthern
Transit authorityWest Yorkshire (Metro)
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeCRG
Fare zone2
ClassificationDfT category E
Passengers
2015/16 0.503 million
2016/17 0.547 million
2017/18 0.543 million
2018/19 0.525 million
2019/20 0.519 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

In the past signwriters have been unsure as to the correct spelling of Cross Gates, with "Cross Gates" on the westbound platform and "Crossgates" on one sign on the eastbound platform. As of 2010, only the "Cross Gates" spelling is shown, and this is also the version used by National Rail Enquiries.[1]

History
Oil train at Cross Gates station in 1984

The station was originally opened by the Leeds and Selby Railway in 1834, but was closed in 1840 when the L&SR was leased by George Hudson's York and North Midland Railway. It reopened in 1850, but patronage was initially modest due to Cross Gates being a small village some distance from Leeds. The subsequent extension of the L&SR into the centre of Leeds in 1869 and the opening of the line to Wetherby seven years later saw usage increase significantly, with the community becoming a busy commuter suburb. A rebuild of the station was authorised in 1870 by the North Eastern Railway, but this was not carried out until 1902; the line from Leeds was quadrupled at this time and the station re-sited slightly east of its original position.[2] In its rebuilt form, platforms were only provided on the outside (slow) lines, along with a ticket office at street level, substantial canopies and waiting rooms on each side. A new goods yard was also built alongside the eastbound platform.

Goods traffic ceased here in June 1964 and the fast lines were removed by the end of the decade. The platform canopies and buildings were demolished in stages in the 1970s, leaving only basic shelters in place. The old lattice footbridge linking the platforms was also demolished in 2007 after being disused and blocked off for several years.[2]

Facilities

The station still has an active ticket office, which is manned part-time (Mondays to Saturdays only, early morning until early afternoon). Ticket machines are also available for use outside these times and for the collection of advance purchase tickets. Step-free access is possible to both platforms, by means of ramps from the street above.[1] Digital information screens and a long-line P.A system provide train running information.

A café named "The Waiting Room" opened in April 2017 behind the ticket office.[3]

Services

Monday to Saturday daytime there is a half-hourly service to Leeds, with alternate trains extending through to Bradford Interchange and Halifax (the latter was introduced at the winter 2019 timetable change to restore the link previously removed in December 2018). Two weekday a.m peak services to Blackpool North also call. Eastbound, there is an hourly service to York and Hull via Selby respectively Monday to Saturday all day (the Selby service did not run in the evenings prior to the start of the winter 2019 timetable, but now runs until late evening).[4] On Sundays, there are two trains per hour to Leeds and one each to Selby and York.

In addition to these, TransPennine Express also call here during the morning and evening peaks with 2 trains to Liverpool Lime Street via Manchester, 1 train to Manchester Airport and 2 trains to Scarborough.

CrossCountry services between Scotland and Devon/Cornwall and the daily London North Eastern Railway service from Leeds to Aberdeen rush through the station, but do not stop.

Former services

From 1876 until January 1964, passenger services existed between Cross Gates and Wetherby railway station. The Cross Gates to Wetherby line was closed under the Beeching cuts, with all traffic ceasing in April the same year.[5] Alternative routes to Scarborough existed along this line as well as raceday specials to Wetherby racecourse. Services on this line ran to the following railway stations, Pendas Way, Scholes, Thorner, Bardsey, Collingham Bridge and Wetherby. Wetherby Racecourse also operated its own railway station, on the Harrogate to Church Fenton Line.

  • Old signage on the Leeds bound platform (note dual word spelling)
  • Old signage on the Hull bound platform (note single word spelling)
  • The New Northern/WYPTE Signage on the Eastbound Platform (With Dual Word Spelling)
  • The pedestrian bridge as seen from Station Road, the Bridge now gone as of 2012.
  • Platform 1, looking east towards Station Road, in 2005
  • Class 47 Nos 47832 and 47790 Pass through Cross Gates with an Edinburgh - Southampton Cruise Saver Train in November 2011
  • 158905 arriving at Cross Gates platform 2 in 2018.

References
  1. "Cross Gates (CRG)". National Rail Enquiries. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  2. Disused Stations - Cross Gates Disused Stations Site Record; Retrieved 29 November 2016
  3. "Applications and decisions list". publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  4. Table 40 National Rail timetable, December 2019
  5. Leeds to WetherbyLost Railways West Yorkshire; Retrieved 17 November 2016
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern
TransPennine Express
North TransPennine
  Historical railways  
Halton Dial
Line open, station closed		   North Eastern Railway   Manston (L&SR)
Line open, station closed
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