Menston railway station

Menston railway station serves Menston in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. On the Wharfedale Line between Ilkley and Leeds/Bradford Forster Square, it is served by Class 331 and 333 electric trains run by Northern Trains, who also manage the station.

Menston
National Rail
Platform 1
General information
LocationMenston, City of Bradford
England
Coordinates53°53′32″N 1°44′08″W / 53.8923°N 1.7356°W / 53.8923; -1.7356
Grid referenceSE174440
Managed byNorthern Trains
Transit authorityWest Yorkshire (Metro)
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeMNN
Fare zone3
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Opened1873
Passengers
2019/20Increase 0.659 million
2020/21Decrease 0.187 million
2021/22Increase 0.441 million
2022/23Increase 0.581 million
2023/24Increase 0.592 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The line was opened in August 1865 by the Midland Railway on their line from Apperley Junction to Burley-in-Wharfedale, from where trains could travel to either Ilkley or Otley via the Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway, however, Menston station did not open until April 1873.[1][2] The route to Otley was closed in 1965, but the Ilkley line (though also listed for closure in the 1963 Beeching Report) avoided a similar fate, being finally reprieved in 1972.[3] Electric services at the station commenced in 1994.

Between 1883 and 1951, High Royds Hospital, which stood to the west of the line, was served by a long private siding from just south of Menston station.

Menston station was redeveloped in 2000 as part of the general improvements to the Wharfedale Line by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. The disused station building was brought back into use and a new ticket office was opened. The station now includes ticket machines where passengers can buys tickets and view services from Menston. Its current opening times are 06:15–18:00 Mon–Sat and 09:15–17:00 Sunday. A bus stop was added in the station forecourt.

It is planned for platform 1 to be extended; this is to allow for six-carriage trains in the future.[4]

Services

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Menston station

During Monday to Saturday daytimes services run to/from Leeds twice per hour and once per hour to/from Bradford (increasing to half-hourly in the peaks), and there are three services every hour to Ilkley (four at peak times). During weekday evenings and all day Sundays, services are hourly to/from both Leeds and Bradford Forster Square and twice-hourly to Ilkley.[5]

Onward connections

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The bus stop on the station forecourt is regularly served by Connexionsbuses 962 to Otley and Ilkley[6] and their 963 to and from Otley & Garnett Wharfe.[7][8]

TLC Travel operate the 635 between Pool, Otley, Shipley and Bradford once a day, both outward and return journeys serve the station forecourt.[9]

First Leeds services 33/34 serve the station forecourt on evenings and Sundays but at other times only stop nearby on Cleasby Road.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Waller, Peter (2023). The railways of Bradford and Leeds: their history and development. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-52677-342-5.
  2. ^ Joy, David (1984). South and West Yorkshire: the industrial West Riding (2 ed.). Newton Abbot: David Charles. p. 246. ISBN 0-9465-3711-9.
  3. ^ "Otley & Ilkley Joint Railway (MR/NER)"John Speller's Web Pages; Retrieved 3 June 2016
  4. ^ Comfort, Nick (June 2023). "Whafedale platform extensions for 6-car trains". Today's Railways UK. No. 256. p. 18.
  5. ^ Table 34 National Rail timetable, May 2023
  6. ^ "Timetable | Metro". www.wymetro.com. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Timetable | Metro". www.wymetro.com. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Menston Rail Stn – bustimes.org". bustimes.org. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Timetable | Metro". www.wymetro.com. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Timetable | Metro". www.wymetro.com. Retrieved 8 August 2022.

Bibliography

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Platform 2
Preceding station     National Rail   Following station
Northern Trains