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 21 1⁄4 miles (34 km) south of York towards Sheffield.

Pontefract Baghill
View from Platform 2 with a train towards Sheffield
LocationPontefract, City of Wakefield
England
Coordinates53.692°N 1.303°W / 53.692; -1.303
Grid referenceSE461219
Managed byNorthern
Transit authorityWest Yorkshire Metro
Platforms2
Other information
Station codePFR
Fare zone3
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Opened1879
Passengers
2015/16 5,696
2016/17 6,148
2017/18 6,448
2018/19 7,376
2019/20 10,206
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History
A 1912 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing (lower right) railways in the vicinity of Pontefract Baghill (shown here as S & K Jnt)

The station was opened together with the Ferrybridge to Moorthorpe section of the Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway. Public passenger train services began on 1 July 1879, freight traffic had already started by then. The design of the station followed basic principles of the North Eastern Railway, it was, however, larger than the other stations opened on the line at the same time.[1] Pontefract Baghill was also once linked to the Wakefield, Pontefract & Goole main line by means of a short chord to Pontefract Monkhill near the intersection of the two lines as shown on the accompanying RCH map. This connection closed in November 1964,[2] but the bay platform it once used at the northern end can still be made out. Two short curves north of the station near Ferrybridge connect the Dearne Valley Line to the western end of Knottingley station westbound and the eastern end of Monkhill station (both on the Pontefract Line), but are now only in use for freight and diverted passenger services.

In the Strategic Rail Authority's 2002/3 financial year, only 15 people bought tickets for journeys from Pontefract Baghill station, and 21 bought tickets for journeys ending there,[3] making it the sixth least busy station in the United Kingdom at that time. The annual usage in recent years is still considerably lower than that of Monkhill and Tanshelf stations.

Facilities

The station has very basic amenities - it is unstaffed and has no ticketing provision of any kind, so anyone travelling from here needs to buy their ticket on the train or in advance of travel. The only other facilities offered are bench seating, a public telephone and timetable information posters (the old main building still stands but is in private use). Step-free access is available to both platforms.[4] Neither platform has any shelter; though it is possible to wait under the passage in the former station building on the York bound platform.

Services
Pontefract Baghill railway station in 1987.
View of Platform 2 from Platform 1
British Rail Class 142 en-route to Sheffield in 2019.

The low level of usage can be attributed to there being only six trains each day (four on Sundays), three serving the station northbound to York and three southbound to Sheffield, at times that are not favourable to commuters.[5][6] Furthermore, the neighbouring cities of Leeds and Wakefield cannot be reached by direct services from the station.

Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern

From the May 2019 timetable change, an additional service in each direction has been introduced on Mondays to Saturdays (15:37 northbound to York, 17:49 southbound to Sheffield).[7]

References and notes
  1. Michael Norfolk, ed. (2012). "Pontefract Steam Railways by Peter Cookson. Gallery Three". Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. Body, p.52
  3. The usage information (Station Entries and Station Exits) is based on ticket sales in the financial year 2002/03 and covers all National Rail stations. By 2004/05 the figure has risen to 53. The SRA finds it difficult to allocate passenger usage numbers for stations grouped together (tickets are booked to Pontefract Stations and not a particular station). Adjusted figures can be wrong either way (hence the sudden increase in the figures right). In any event usage is low although the figure can probably never be ascertained accurately. Continued usage notes Archived 4 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine, and Excel format table for all stations Archived 13 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine available.
  4. Pontefract Baghill station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 18 January 2017
  5. National Rail Timetable December 2018, Table 33 (Network Rail)
  6. Christopher R. Hyomes, ed. (18 October 2013). Rail North Strategy Consultation, Response from Railfuture (Report). Railfuture. p. 5.
  7. Table 33 National Rail timetable, May 2019

Literature
  • Body, G. (1988), PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 1-85260-072-1
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