Morley railway station
Encyclopedia
Morley railway station serves the town of Morley
, West Yorkshire
, England
.
The station is on Huddersfield Line
, is operated by Northern Rail
, and is 5 miles (8 km) south west of Leeds
. The station is at one end of the 4320 yards (4 km) long Morley Tunnel
, which goes underneath the town.
. Recorded usage in 2002/03 was 27,296 journeys per year (average of entries and exists). By 2005/06, this had increased to 68,664 journeys per year, an increase of 252% in four years. Actual growth may be higher since the ORR data does not accurately take account of the multi-modal 'MetroCard' season tickets issued by West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
that are valid for journeys to and from this station.
Despite commuter growth, very little has been done to bring this station into the 21st century. For example there is no visual live passenger information, not all platforms are accessible for disabled passengers, insufficient parking, access routes to the station often overgrown with weeds, and frequent drainage problems which all combine to make the station not as pleasant as other stations in West Yorkshire. The local newspaper Morley Observer & Advertiser stated on 12 January 2011 that plans are now in place to update the station, starting with the installation of CCTV. This was later installed.
The outlying location of the station is a major problem to potential users; the station lies over half a mile from the centre of Morley by the most direct route. Additionally, the most direct route from the station to the centre is both incompletely signposted and treacherous in poor conditions, due to over one hundred steps along the way. There is no bus service to the station, with the nearest bus stops also half a mile away.
Morley railway station has neither a taxi rank nor a cab office in the vicinity. As the only real option for mobility-impaired passengers travelling to or from the station is by taxi, the cost and the waiting time easily negate the respective money and time that may have been saved by travelling by train.
|}
Morley railway station is on the Huddersfield Line
. , it is served by hourly services throughout the day between Leeds and Huddersfield
; and between Leeds and Manchester Victoria via Brighouse
. These two services combine to offer a half-hourly service to Leeds, Batley
, Dewsbury
and Mirfield
.
The hourly Huddersfield service continues into the late evening, and runs every two hours on Sundays. The Manchester Victoria service ends after the afternoon rush and does not run on Sundays, necessitating a change of train at Dewsbury or Huddersfield to reach Manchester.
Express trains operated by First TransPennine Express
between Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly via Huddersfield pass through Morley, but do not stop. To use these services, it is necessary to travel to Dewsbury
or Huddersfield
on the local trains, and change.
and Leeds. It is also possible to buy tickets in advance online, but note that there is no facility to collect tickets from Morley, and opting to have tickets mailed may incur an additional charge.
An alternative is to purchase a 'MetroCard' season ticket offered by West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
. As Morley is in Zone 2, all MetroCard tickets that include rail travel are valid at Morley. National Rail also offers a wide selection of rail-only season tickets allowing unlimited travel between Morley and another named station.
West Yorkshire
residents who hold a Metro-issued Concessionary Pass
are entitled to purchase a ticket for any rail journey wholly within West Yorkshire for 50p after the morning peak. As this can be combined with a standard ticket beyond West Yorkshire, longer journeys can also be made slightly cheaper. For example, travelling from Morley to Manchester Victoria costs significantly less by travelling to Todmorden on the concessionary rate, leaving only the relatively short Todmorden to Manchester journey to be paid for.
in 1848 as "Morley Low station", due to its low lying location.
The town's other station (known as "Morley Top"), which was situated nearer to the town centre and served by trains on the GNR
Bradford
to Ardsley
line, was closed by British Rail
in January 1961.
In 2003, plans were in place to upgrade Morley station's facilities by introducing cycle stands, CCTV, and improvements to the car park. As only one platform is accessible to mobility-impaired users, Morley Town Council lobbied (unsuccessfully) to have the upgrade include the installation of wheelchair ramps to platform 2. Only the cycle stands were completed at that time. In January 2011, plans were laid out once again for CCTV cameras to be installed, and these were installed in the following months.
Morley, West Yorkshire
Morley is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately south-west of Leeds city centre. Together with Drighlington, Gildersome, Churwell, Tingley and East/West Ardsley, the town had a population of 47,579 in...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, 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...
.
The station is on Huddersfield Line
Huddersfield Line
The Huddersfield Line is the name given to one of the busiest rail services on the West Yorkshire MetroTrain network in northern England. Local services are operated by Northern Rail with longer distance services operated by TransPennine Express...
, is operated by 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...
, and is 5 miles (8 km) south west of 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...
. The station is at one end of the 4320 yards (4 km) long Morley Tunnel
Morley Tunnel
Morley Tunnel is a railway tunnel in West Yorkshire, England, that is situated between Morley railway station and Batley railway station on the Huddersfield Line...
, which goes underneath the town.
Patronage growth
Patronage at Morley station has increased remarkably in recent years, and this is reflected by annual figures published by the Office of Rail RegulationOffice of Rail Regulation
The Office of Rail Regulation is a statutory board which is the combined economic and safety regulatory authority for Great Britain's railway network. It was established on 5 July 2004 by the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, replacing the Rail Regulator...
. Recorded usage in 2002/03 was 27,296 journeys per year (average of entries and exists). By 2005/06, this had increased to 68,664 journeys per year, an increase of 252% in four years. Actual growth may be higher since the ORR data does not accurately take account of the multi-modal 'MetroCard' season tickets issued by West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
The West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the executive arm of the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority and was originally formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport...
that are valid for journeys to and from this station.
Current problems
The increase in recorded and actual passengers, combined with growth elsewhere on the line, means that overcrowding in the morning peak for commuters heading towards Leeds is now a serious problem.Despite commuter growth, very little has been done to bring this station into the 21st century. For example there is no visual live passenger information, not all platforms are accessible for disabled passengers, insufficient parking, access routes to the station often overgrown with weeds, and frequent drainage problems which all combine to make the station not as pleasant as other stations in West Yorkshire. The local newspaper Morley Observer & Advertiser stated on 12 January 2011 that plans are now in place to update the station, starting with the installation of CCTV. This was later installed.
The outlying location of the station is a major problem to potential users; the station lies over half a mile from the centre of Morley by the most direct route. Additionally, the most direct route from the station to the centre is both incompletely signposted and treacherous in poor conditions, due to over one hundred steps along the way. There is no bus service to the station, with the nearest bus stops also half a mile away.
Morley railway station has neither a taxi rank nor a cab office in the vicinity. As the only real option for mobility-impaired passengers travelling to or from the station is by taxi, the cost and the waiting time easily negate the respective money and time that may have been saved by travelling by train.
Services
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Morley railway station is on the Huddersfield Line
Huddersfield Line
The Huddersfield Line is the name given to one of the busiest rail services on the West Yorkshire MetroTrain network in northern England. Local services are operated by Northern Rail with longer distance services operated by TransPennine Express...
. , it is served by hourly services throughout the day between Leeds and Huddersfield
Huddersfield railway station
Huddersfield railway station serves the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England.The station is managed by First TransPennine Express who provide trains between the North East, North and East Yorkshire, and Leeds to the east and Manchester Piccadilly and North West.It is also served by local...
; and between Leeds and Manchester Victoria via Brighouse
Brighouse railway station
Brighouse railway station serves the town of Brighouse in West Yorkshire, England. The station lies on the Caldervale Line and the Huddersfield Line running west from Leeds. The station reopened in 2000 and is served by local Northern Rail trains.- History :...
. These two services combine to offer a half-hourly service to Leeds, Batley
Batley railway station
Batley railway station serves the town of Batley in West Yorkshire, England. The station opened in 1848.The station is to the south west of Leeds...
, Dewsbury
Dewsbury railway station
Dewsbury railway station serves the town of Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, England. The station is south west of Leeds on the Huddersfield Line.The station is managed by TransPennine Express trains and it is the stop between Leeds and Huddersfield.-History:...
and Mirfield
Mirfield railway station
Mirfield railway station serves the town of Mirfield in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Huddersfield Line operated by Northern Rail and is north east from ....
.
The hourly Huddersfield service continues into the late evening, and runs every two hours on Sundays. The Manchester Victoria service ends after the afternoon rush and does not run on Sundays, necessitating a change of train at Dewsbury or Huddersfield to reach Manchester.
Express trains 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...
between Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly via Huddersfield pass through Morley, but do not stop. To use these services, it is necessary to travel to Dewsbury
Dewsbury railway station
Dewsbury railway station serves the town of Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, England. The station is south west of Leeds on the Huddersfield Line.The station is managed by TransPennine Express trains and it is the stop between Leeds and Huddersfield.-History:...
or Huddersfield
Huddersfield railway station
Huddersfield railway station serves the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England.The station is managed by First TransPennine Express who provide trains between the North East, North and East Yorkshire, and Leeds to the east and Manchester Piccadilly and North West.It is also served by local...
on the local trains, and change.
Tickets
Morley railway station does not have a ticket office; passengers are able to purchase tickets on the train from the conductor. This presents a problem at peak times, as one person cannot possibly sell tickets to every passenger on a crowded train; passengers travelling into Leeds therefore have to queue up at the excess fares kiosk in Leeds to purchase tickets on arrival, in order to pass through the ticket barriers. It is, however, possible to buy tickets to or from Morley in the usual way at any manned station, with the nearest manned stations being DewsburyDewsbury railway station
Dewsbury railway station serves the town of Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, England. The station is south west of Leeds on the Huddersfield Line.The station is managed by TransPennine Express trains and it is the stop between Leeds and Huddersfield.-History:...
and Leeds. It is also possible to buy tickets in advance online, but note that there is no facility to collect tickets from Morley, and opting to have tickets mailed may incur an additional charge.
An alternative is to purchase a 'MetroCard' season ticket offered by West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
The West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the executive arm of the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority and was originally formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport...
. As Morley is in Zone 2, all MetroCard tickets that include rail travel are valid at Morley. National Rail also offers a wide selection of rail-only season tickets allowing unlimited travel between Morley and another named station.
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
residents who hold a Metro-issued Concessionary Pass
English National Concessionary Travel Scheme
The English National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme is a national scheme by the Department for Transport in conjunction with Local Authorities across England....
are entitled to purchase a ticket for any rail journey wholly within West Yorkshire for 50p after the morning peak. As this can be combined with a standard ticket beyond West Yorkshire, longer journeys can also be made slightly cheaper. For example, travelling from Morley to Manchester Victoria costs significantly less by travelling to Todmorden on the concessionary rate, leaving only the relatively short Todmorden to Manchester journey to be paid for.
History
Morley railway station was opened by the LNWRLondon and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
in 1848 as "Morley Low station", due to its low lying location.
The town's other station (known as "Morley Top"), which was situated nearer to the town centre and served by trains on the GNR
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
Bradford
Bradford Interchange railway station
Bradford Interchange is a combined railway, coach and bus station in Bradford, England. Designed in 1962 and hailed as a showpiece of European design, the building was opened in 1971.-Bus station:...
to Ardsley
Ardsley railway station
Ardsley railway station was situated on the Great Northern Railway between Tingley and Lofthouse and Outwood on the main line and west of Stanley on the LNER & LMS Methley Joint Railway...
line, was closed by British Rail
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...
in January 1961.
In 2003, plans were in place to upgrade Morley station's facilities by introducing cycle stands, CCTV, and improvements to the car park. As only one platform is accessible to mobility-impaired users, Morley Town Council lobbied (unsuccessfully) to have the upgrade include the installation of wheelchair ramps to platform 2. Only the cycle stands were completed at that time. In January 2011, plans were laid out once again for CCTV cameras to be installed, and these were installed in the following months.
Sources
- Haigh, A. (1978 reprint) The Railways of Yorkshire - A New Edition Dalesman Publishing, Clapham, North Yorkshire. ISBN 0-85206-459-4