Wakefield Kirkgate railway station
Wakefield Kirkgate West Yorkshire (Metro) | |
|---|---|
| Platforms | 3 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | WKK |
| Fare zone | 3 |
| Classification | DfT category F1 |
| History | |
| Opened | 5 October 1840 |
| Original company | Manchester and Leeds Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway |
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 5 October 1840 | Station opened |
| Passengers | |
| 2018/19 |  0.525 million |
| 2019/20 | 0.511 million |
| 2020/21 | 0.115 million |
| Interchange | 37,859 |
| 2021/22 |  0.380 million |
| Interchange | 88,600 |
| 2022/23 | 0.508 million |
| Interchange | 82,663 |
| Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |
Wakefield Kirkgate railway station is a
History
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The original Kirkgate station opened by the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1840 was the only station in Wakefield until Westgate was opened in 1867. The railway station building dates from 1854. It is named for the nearby Kirkgate street.
Some demolition work took place in 1972, removing buildings on the island platform and the roof with its original ironwork canopy which covered the whole station. A wall remains as evidence of these buildings. After this, Kirkgate was listed in 1979.[2]
Since Westgate developed as Wakefield's main railway station, Kirkgate was neglected for many years and deteriorated until it was in a poor state of repair. In January 2008 the former goods warehouse was demolished to make way for a depot for Network Rail.[3] In October 2008, part of the station wall collapsed, destroying a parked car.[4]
The station is unstaffed and, despite the presence of
Refurbishment 2013–15
Following a campaign supported by the
Work completed by June 2013 included the following items:[14]
- Removal of life-expired and unused canopies
- Refurbishment and reglazing of the Leeds-bound canopy
- Creation of new entrances to the subway
- Installation of electronic information screens on the platforms and entrance hall
A second phase of work, completed in September 2015,[15][16] included
- Units for new businesses
- Café
- Retail outlet
- Exhibition spaces
- Meeting rooms for community and local business
- Accommodation for Groundwork Wakefield
Grand Central opened a first class lounge for its customers in April 2017.[17]
Usage
Historically, figures for annual passenger usage at Kirkgate were comparatively low, with only 769 tickets sold to/from the station in the 2006/07 financial year.[18] However this was because most tickets are bought to "Wakefield Stations", and it was hard to determine the true use of Wakefield Westgate and Kirkgate as separate entities. Following changes in the way the statistics are collected, Kirkgate's usage figure increased significantly to a value which more accurately reflects its true usage.[18] In 2022/23, 508,000 journeys to and from the station were estimated along with 82,000 interchanges.
Station layout
Platform 1 – Served by northbound
.Platform 2 – Served by southbound
Platform 3 – Served by north-eastbound
The island platform consisting of platforms 2 and 3, is linked to platform 1 and the station building by a newly refurbished subway, featuring better lighting and new bright white paint. Art panels were added to the subway in February 2017, and a brass band rendition of 'Jerusalem' plays in the background.[19]
Services
Current services
Most services through this station are operated by
- Lincoln) and one stopping service, with the latter running via Castleford.[20]
- Pontefract Monkhill with a two-hourly service on Sundays.[21]
- Sheffield and Chesterfield.[22]
- Sheffield and Worksop.
- Caldervale Line.[23]
- From December 2023, four services per day run from Manchester Piccadilly to York via Wakefield Kirkgate and Castleford avoiding Leeds.[24] These replace the former Northern services between Huddersfield and Castleford. One early morning service starts here for Manchester also, along with a balancing late evening terminating service from Manchester.
Summer Special trains
During the summer, excursion trains using heritage rolling stock run through the station; the
See also
References
- ^ a b "Station Facilities: Wakefield Kirkgate". National Rail. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ "List of Listed Buildings, Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Buildings of Local Interest" (PDF). City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. 26 April 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ "Going..Going..nearly Gone..!". Wakey S&T..Online. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
- ^ Wright, Rebecca (3 October 2008). "Car crushed as Kirkgate Station wall collapses". Wakefield Express. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ "Kirkgate rapist jailed indefinitely". Wakefield Express. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
- ^ Bradley, Lisa (29 July 2009). "Man attacked at Wakefield Kirkgate Station". Wakefield Express. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ "Lord Adonis criticises Network Rail in letter about state of Wakefield Kirkgate". Wakefield Express. Johnston Press Digital Publishing. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ "Rail Safety at Kirkgate and Services on the Pontefract Line" (PDF). City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
- ^ "Kirkgate Station Petition". Wakefield Express. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
- ^ "West Yorkshire Metro | Schemes under development | Wakefield Kirkgate Station Redevelopment". Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
- ^ "Council vote on Kirkgate". Wakefield Express. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ "Wakefield Kirkgate: £4.6m raised for 'worst' station's upgrade". BBC News. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ "Kirkgate Station officially open after multi-million pound renovation". Pontefract and Castleford Express. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "Wakefield Kirkgate Rail Station Redevelopment". Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ^ "Wakefield Kirkgate Station opens after £5.6m revamp - Yorkshire Evening Post". Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ "Transport Minister opens Wakefield Kirkgate station - News stories - GOV.UK". Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ "Grand Central Rail unveils First Class lounge Wakefield". Buying Business Travel. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Office of Rail Regulation statistics". Archived from the original on 4 July 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
- ^ "Permanent art show in Wakefield Kirkgate station underpass". BBC News. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ Table 27 National Rail timetable, December 2023
- ^ GB eNRT, Table 32
- ^ Northern Timetable 33 Leeds to Nottingham Northern; Retrieved 12 May 2017
- ^ "West Yorkshire and Doncaster timetable". Grand Central Trains. Grand Central. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ^ "Castleford to York direct trains to run on route again after 50 years". BBC News. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ "The Dalesman - Fare Prices". westcoastrailways.co.uk.
- ^ "The Scarborough Spa Express – Timetable". Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
External links
Media related to Wakefield Kirkgate railway station at Wikimedia Commons