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

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:...

 and the line remained in use through the subsequent NER

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...

, LNER

London and North Eastern Railway

The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...

, BR

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

 and post-privatisation

History of rail transport in Great Britain 1995 to date

This article is part of a series on the History of rail transport in Great BritainThe period from 1995 covers the history following the privatisation of British Rail...

 periods.

As of 2010 the line is still in mainline use and is part of the York & Selby Lines

York & Selby Lines

The York & Selby Lines is the name given to a group of services in the West Yorkshire Metro area, connecting Leeds with places to its north and east: as well as the Northern Rail local services to York and Selby, the services extend to:...

 operated by 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...

  for services to Selby, Hull, and York and beyond.

By 1830 Leeds had long been an important town, having become prosperous initially through the manufacture of woollen cloth.