Church Fenton railway station
Encyclopedia
Church Fenton railway station serves Church Fenton
in North Yorkshire
, England
. It is situated on the former York and North Midland Railway
main line from York
to Normanton
, just under 10.75 miles (17 km) from York
.
via Wetherby
and Tadcaster
by the Y&NM in 1848 gave the modest wayside station new importance and within two years it had become a calling point on the new East Coast Main Line
from York
to London
with the opening of a line from Burton Salmon
to Knottingley
(trains then continuing via Askern
and Doncaster
).
Further development of the station occurred in 1869, when a 5 miles (8 km) link was opened by the North Eastern Railway
from there to Micklefield
on the former Leeds and Selby Railway
to create a new main line between Leeds
and York. The NER had been looking to shorten the previous, indirect route between the two cities via Castleford
for some time prior to this, but plans to build a direct line via Tadcaster
had come to nothing and so this alternative route was chosen. The existing line from here to York was subsequently quadrupled to handle the increased levels of traffic and the station substantially altered, with the addition of extra platforms and connections between the two pairs of lines. The station lost its ECML status in 1871 when the new direct line from York to Doncaster via Selby
was opened, but trains from London to Harrogate continued to call and yet another addition to the list of routes serving the station came in 1879 when the Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway
line via Pontefract Baghill and Ferrybridge
was opened.
Today the station remains busy, even though the Harrogate line fell victim to the Beeching Axe
in January 1964 and passenger trains towards Castleford
ended six years later. The Leeds to York line carries a frequent passenger service (including CrossCountry
and First TransPennine Express
services) whilst the line towards Sherburn
, Milford Junction and thence to Knottingley
, Castleford and Pontefract
carries large quantities of freight. However only certain trains on the Northern Rail
operated Leeds to York, Dearne Valley
and Hull to York routes actually call at the station's four platforms due to the relatively small size of the village it serves.
The station is covered by a Ditra Systems Public Address System (PA), voiced by Phil Sayer.
) and by a limited service on the York to Sheffield line (two trains per day each way) and towards Selby
and Hull (one northbound and two southbound trains each way, peak hours only). Sundays see a two-hourly service to Leeds & York and two trains each way on the Dearne Valley line.
Church Fenton
Church Fenton is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. The village is home to many commuters and is served by a railway station; Church Fenton railway station. Neighbouring villages include Cawood and Ulleskelf. It is about from Tadcaster and from...
in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated on the former York and North Midland Railway
York and North Midland Railway
The York and North Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting York, with the Leeds and Selby Railway and in 1840 with the North Midland Railway at Normanton near Leeds.-Origins:...
main line from York
York railway station
York railway station is a main-line railway station in the city of York, England. It lies on the East Coast Main Line north of London's King's Cross station towards Edinburgh's Waverley Station...
to Normanton
Normanton railway station
Normanton railway station serves the town of Normanton in West Yorkshire, England. It lies south-east of Leeds railway station on the Hallam Line, which is operated by Northern Rail.-History:...
, just under 10.75 miles (17 km) from York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
.
History
The Y&NMR opened the first part of its route through the village (and on as far as Milford) on 29 May 1839, completing it the following year. The completion of a branch from there to HarrogateHarrogate railway station
Harrogate railway station serves the town centre of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. It is located on the Harrogate Line north of Leeds railway station. Northern Rail operate the station and provide all passenger train services except a daily East Coast service to and from London Kings...
via Wetherby
Wetherby railway station
Wetherby railway station can refer to three railway stations in Wetherby, West Yorkshire:*Wetherby railway station - The last operating railway station in the town*Wetherby railway station - The first railway station in the town...
and Tadcaster
Tadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. Lying on the Great North Road approximately east of Leeds and west of York. It is the last town on the River Wharfe before it joins the River Ouse about downstream...
by the Y&NM in 1848 gave the modest wayside station new importance and within two years it had become a calling point on the new East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
from York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with the opening of a line from Burton Salmon
Burton Salmon
Burton Salmon is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, close to the border with West Yorkshire, and about three miles north of Knottingley, on the A162 road...
to Knottingley
Knottingley railway station
Knottingley railway station serves the town of Knottingley in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Pontefract Line, operated by Northern Rail, and is south east of Leeds railway station....
(trains then continuing via Askern
Askern Branch Line
The Askern Branch Line is a railway line in South, North and West Yorkshire in England which runs from Shaftholme Junction north of Doncaster , via Askern, Norton and Womersley to Knottingley, where it joins the Pontefract Line.-History:It was opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway on 6 June...
and Doncaster
Doncaster railway station
Doncaster railway station serves the town of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the East Coast Main Line north of London Kings Cross, and is about five minutes walk from Doncaster town centre. The station is managed by East Coast...
).
Further development of the station occurred in 1869, when a 5 miles (8 km) link was opened by the North Eastern Railway
North Eastern Railway (UK)
The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...
from there to Micklefield
Micklefield railway station
Micklefield railway station serves the village of Micklefield, near Garforth in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the York and Selby Lines, operated by Northern Rail, east of Leeds....
on the former Leeds and Selby Railway
Leeds and Selby Railway
The Leeds and Selby Railway was an early British railway company and first mainline railway in Yorkshire. It was opened in 1834.The company was absorbed by the York and North Midland Railway and the line remained in use through the subsequent NER, LNER, BR and post-privatisation periods.As of 2010...
to create a new main line between Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and York. The NER had been looking to shorten the previous, indirect route between the two cities via Castleford
Castleford railway station
Castleford railway station is an unstaffed railway station serving the town of Castleford in West Yorkshire. It lies on the Hallam and the Pontefract Lines south east of Leeds....
for some time prior to this, but plans to build a direct line via Tadcaster
Tadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. Lying on the Great North Road approximately east of Leeds and west of York. It is the last town on the River Wharfe before it joins the River Ouse about downstream...
had come to nothing and so this alternative route was chosen. The existing line from here to York was subsequently quadrupled to handle the increased levels of traffic and the station substantially altered, with the addition of extra platforms and connections between the two pairs of lines. The station lost its ECML status in 1871 when the new direct line from York to Doncaster via Selby
Selby railway station
Selby railway station serves the town of Selby in North Yorkshire, England. The station is on the Hull-York Line south of York, Leeds-Hull Line east of Leeds and west of Hull....
was opened, but trains from London to Harrogate continued to call and yet another addition to the list of routes serving the station came in 1879 when the Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway
Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway
The Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway was a British railway company formed to connect the Midland and Great Central lines at Swinton, north of Rotherham, with the North Eastern Railway at Ferrybridge, near Knottingley, a distance of sixteen miles, opening up a more direct route between York and...
line via Pontefract Baghill and Ferrybridge
Ferrybridge railway station
Ferrybridge railway station was a railway station located in Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire, England on the London and North Eastern Line. The station was opened in 1882 by the North Eastern Railway, three years after the completion of the Swinton & Knottingley Joint line via Moorthorpe on 1 May 1879...
was opened.
Today the station remains busy, even though the Harrogate line fell victim to the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
in January 1964 and passenger trains towards Castleford
Castleford railway station
Castleford railway station is an unstaffed railway station serving the town of Castleford in West Yorkshire. It lies on the Hallam and the Pontefract Lines south east of Leeds....
ended six years later. The Leeds to York line carries a frequent passenger service (including CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
and First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express is a British train operating company. It is a joint operation between First Group and Keolis . It operates regular passenger services in northern England, including services linking the west and east coasts across the Pennines...
services) whilst the line towards Sherburn
Sherburn-in-Elmet railway station
Sherburn-in-Elmet railway station serves the village of Sherburn-in-Elmet near Selby in North Yorkshire, England. The station is located approximately from the village and is south of York....
, Milford Junction and thence to Knottingley
Knottingley
Knottingley is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the A1 road. It has a population of 13,503....
, Castleford and Pontefract
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...
carries large quantities of freight. However only certain trains on the Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
operated Leeds to York, Dearne Valley
Dearne Valley Line
The Dearne Valley Line is the name given to a railway line in the north of England running from York to Sheffield via Pontefract Baghill and Moorthorpe.-History:...
and Hull to York routes actually call at the station's four platforms due to the relatively small size of the village it serves.
The station is covered by a Ditra Systems Public Address System (PA), voiced by Phil Sayer.
Services
Currently the station is served every two hours (hourly in the peaks) on weekdays by trains on the York to Leeds route (most of which continue to Bradford Interchange and BlackpoolBlackpool North railway station
Blackpool North railway station is the main railway station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line from Preston....
) and by a limited service on the York to Sheffield line (two trains per day each way) and towards Selby
Selby railway station
Selby railway station serves the town of Selby in North Yorkshire, England. The station is on the Hull-York Line south of York, Leeds-Hull Line east of Leeds and west of Hull....
and Hull (one northbound and two southbound trains each way, peak hours only). Sundays see a two-hourly service to Leeds & York and two trains each way on the Dearne Valley line.