Wakefield Line

The Wakefield line is the name given to one of the rail services in the West Yorkshire Metro/South Yorkshire P.T.E. area of northern England. The service connects Leeds and Wakefield with Sheffield and Doncaster. The section of the line between Leeds and Doncaster forms part of the East Coast Main Line. The local stopping service is operated by Northern Rail; it is supplemented by frequent InterCity services between Leeds, Wakefield and either Doncaster or Sheffield. Long distance services using this line as part of longer journeys are run by GNER, East Midlands Trains and CrossCountry. Parts of the line over which the Wakefield Line trains run are also used by the Huddersfield and Pontefract Lines.

West Yorkshire Metrocards are available for all trains as far as South Elmsall on the Doncaster line; and to Moorthorpe on the Sheffield part of the Line.

The Route

At the time of the 1923 Grouping the line was owned by different railway companies:
* Leeds Central station - Wakefield: Great Northern Railway (GNR). Wakefield station was jointly owned by the GNR and Great Central Railways (GCR). This section is part of the main Leeds - London line.
* Wakefield - Doncaster: "West Riding and Grimsby Joint Railway" (WRGJt) (joint GNR/GCR ownership).
* "Moorthorpe Junction" (near South Elmsall - Swinton: "Swinton & Knottingley Joint Railway" (MidR/NER).
* Swinton - Sheffield Midland Railway (MidR)

Leeds Central - Wakefield Westgate

At Outwood there were junctions with two joint undertakings:

* "East & West Yorkshire Union": a short line connecting the GN/MidR main lines via Rothwell
* "Methley Joint Railway": [joint owners: GNR/Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR)/North Eastern Railway (NER)] . The line connected to various lines in the Castleford area

Wakefield - Doncaster

Some stations on this line may have plans to be reopened.
* Sandal and Agbrigg railway station Closed to passengers 5 November 1957; reopened 1988.
* Hare Park & Crofton (Closed) between here and Nostell were two junctions connecting with L&YR and GCR lines
* Nostell Open, but renamed Fitzwilliam.
* Hemsworth Closed as of 2005.
* here is a junction with the Hull and Barnsley Railway (HBR)
* here there is a junction where the Wakefield Line service to Sheffield branches south.
* South Elmsall
* Hampole Closed as of 2005 (further junctions with the HBR)
* Carcroft Closed as of 2005
* Adwick
* Bentley
* Doncaster

andal - Sheffield

Part of this section is also worked as the Dearne Valley Line:
* Moorthorpe
* "Frickley railway station" branch to Frickley Colliery
* Thurnscoe was "Hickleton & Thurnscoe"
* here at "Hickleton Junction" the line called the Dearne Valley Railway (worked by the L&Y) had a junction with the route
* Goldthorpe
* Bolton-on-Dearne
* here was a junction with the GCR Penistone - Doncaster line.
* SwintonFrom here, towards Sheffield, the Midland and Great Central had parallel lines following the course of the River Don.
* The lines of the competing companies were so close that in 1965 BR built a new junction complex at Aldwarke; the Wakefield line now follows the former GCR line to reach the reopened Rotherham Central. Intermediate stations were to be found at:
* Parkgate & Aldwarke railway station (Closed 1951)
* Rotherham Road railway station (Closed)
* From Rotherham Central, taking a new curve, the line joins the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway.
* Meadowhall
* Brightside
* From Grimesthorpe Junction the line leaves the S&R and takes the line built in 1870 in order to reach the, then, new Sheffield station of the Midland Railway.
* Attercliffe Road
* Sheffield

ee also

*Metro (West Yorkshire)