Garforth railway station

Garforth
Garforth station platforms from the footbridge, 2020
General information
Location	Garforth, City of Leeds, England
Coordinates	53.7966°N 1.3824°W / 53.7966; -1.3824
Grid reference	SE407335
Managed by	Northern Trains
Transit authority	West Yorkshire Metro
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	GRF
Fare zone	2
Classification	DfT category E
History
Opened	1834
Passengers
2020/21	0.114 million
2021/22	0.345 million
2022/23	0.425 million
2023/24	0.488 million
2024/25	0.561 million
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Garforth is one of two railway stations serving the town of Garforth, in West Yorkshire, England; the other is East Garforth, 0.5 miles (800 m) to the east. Garforth is on the Selby Line, 7.1 miles (11.5 km) east of Leeds and 16 miles (26 km) south-west of York. The station is managed by Northern Trains, which also operates services along with TransPennine Express.

History

The main station building

The station was originally opened by the Leeds and Selby Railway in 1834. The road bridge crosses the line at an oblique angle; this was considered something of a marvel at the time of construction. The station then linked the town with the former Leeds Marsh Lane station. The current buildings date from 1872 and were designed by North Eastern Railway architect Thomas Prosser.

Garforth station also connected with the privately owned Aberford Railway (known locally as the "fly line" or simply "the lines") which closed in 1924; it is now a public path commonly used for horses, dog walkers and travelling to and from Garforth Academy. East of the station was the junction to the branch line to Castleford, via Ledston, which closed to passengers in 1951 and completely in the 1990s.

In 2015, additional shelters were placed on both platforms, doubling the sheltered capacity.

In July 2023, the footbridge, connecting both platforms to Aberford Road, was closed and demolished, for the new replacement bridge to be built. The new bridge will be built by April 2024 in the same spot, and will include lifts. This was done in order to install new overhead wires and to include step free access on to the platforms and Aberford Road.

The footbridge was transported to Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway in Kent.

Facilities

Waiting shelters on platform 1

The station buildings are concentrated on the Leeds bound platform, which is disabled accessible (the opposite platform can only be accessed via a footbridge).

There is a ticket office (open 06:00–14:00 Mondays to Saturdays) and waiting room in the buildings; the remaining space is leased out to a taxi company. The Leeds bound platform also has an automatic ticket machine that can be used out of hours and a vending machine. As well as the heated waiting room on the Leeds-bound platform, there are two shelters available for use out of office hours. The York-bound platform has two passenger shelters.

The two platforms are connected by a footbridge with stepped access, this also links to Aberford Road. The station has a large car park which is free for passenger use. There is CCTV and lighting throughout the station and car park. Refreshments can purchased from the Station House Café, which is situated on the Leeds-bound platform (2).

Route map

Northern Trains Route 9
Calder Valley Line and East Lancashire Line
York Ulleskelf Church Fenton Micklefield East Garforth Garforth Cross Gates Leeds Bramley New Pudsey Bradford Interchange Low Moor Halifax Sowerby Bridge Mytholmroyd Hebden Bridge Manchester Victoria Moston Mills Hill Castleton Rochdale Smithy Bridge Littleborough Walsden Todmorden Colne Nelson Brierfield Burnley Central Burnley Barracks Burnley Manchester Road Rose Grove Hapton Huncoat Accrington Church and Oswaldtwistle Rishton Blackburn Mill Hill Cherry Tree Pleasington Bamber Bridge Lostock Hall Preston Salwick Kirkham and Wesham Poulton-le-Fylde Blackpool North Moss Side Lytham Ansdell and Fairhaven St Annes-on-the-Sea Squires Gate Blackpool Pleasure Beach Blackpool South
Burnley Barracks, Hapton and Pleasington are request stops.

Services

A TransPennine Express Class 185 calling at the station, 2020

Garforth is served by two train operating companies, which provide the following general service in trains per hour/day (tph/tpd):

Northern Trains:

• 2 tph to Halifax, via Leeds; of which:
  • 1 tph continues to Blackpool North, via Preston
• 1 tph to Leeds
• 2 tph to York
• 1 tph to Hull, via Selby.

TransPennine Express: These trains only stop here in the morning and evening peak periods.

• 4 tpd to Manchester Victoria, via Leeds; of which:
  • 3 tpd continue to Liverpool Lime Street
• 3 tpd to Redcar Central; of which:
  • 1 tpd continue to Saltburn
• 1 tpd to Hull, via Selby.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Leeds		TransPennine Express North TransPennine		York
Cross Gates		Northern Selby Line		East Garforth
	Disused railways
Cross Gates		North Eastern Railway Castleford–Garforth line		Kippax

Onward connections

The station has a taxi office, with the rank directly outside the main buildings.

Buses serve the station on Aberford Road, to which there is a direct link from the station's footbridge; they also operate nearby from Main Street, a short walk away.

Gallery

• 
  An InterCity 125 passing by Garforth station; pictured when the footbridge was just closed, before demolition
• 
  A TransPennine Express Mark 5A set bound for Scarborough; pictured when the footbridge was partially demolished
• 
  A demolished footbridge waiting to be transported to the Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway
• 
  The new footbridge at Garforth in 2024

External links

• The LNER Encyclopedia: The Aberford Railway
• The LNER Encyclopedia: The Leeds and Selby Railway

• Train times and station information for Garforth railway station from National Rail