Huddersfield railway station

Huddersfield
Huddersfield railway station in St. Georges Square
Location
Place	Huddersfield
Local authority	Kirklees
Coordinates
Grid reference	SE143168
Operations
Station code	HUD
Managed by	First TransPennine Express
Number of platforms	6
DfT category	B
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	2.214 million
2005/06	2.386 million
2006/07	2.511 million
2007/08	2.672 million
2008/09	3.801 million
2009/10	3.821 million
2010/11	4.095 million
2011/12	4.201 million
2012/13	4.657 million
2013/14	4.816 million
2014/15	4.994 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	West Yorkshire (Metro)
Zone	5
History
Original company	London and North Western Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway/Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway joint
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
3 August 1847	Station opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Huddersfield from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Huddersfield railway station serves the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England.

The station is managed by First TransPennine Express, which provides trains between Manchester and Liverpool in the North West and Newcastle and Middlesbrough in the North East and also to York, Scarborough and Hull via Leeds.

It is also served by local Northern Rail trains on the Huddersfield Line, between Leeds/Wakefield Westgate and Manchester Victoria station.

Additionally the Penistone Line to Sheffield (where the Midland Main Line is reached for services to Leicester and London) and more recently the Caldervale Line for trains towards Halifax and Bradford Interchange.

The station building

Huddersfield railway station by night

Huddersfield railway station in 1980

Designed by the architect James Pigott Pritchett and built by the firm of Joseph Kaye in 1846–50 using the neo-classical style, the station is well known in architectural circles for its classical-style facade, with a portico of the Corinthian order, consisting of six columns in width and two in depth, which dominates St George's Square. It faces out towards Lion Buildings. It is a grade I listed building. The station frontage was described by John Betjeman as the most splendid in England and by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as 'one of the best early railway stations in England'.

Two pubs are within the station frontage, to each side of the main entrance: The Head Of Steam and The King's Head (previously known as The Station Tavern). Both facilities are accessible from Platform 1. At the building's entrance, the booking office is to the left and to the right are the train timetables and a newsagent. Platforms 4 to 8 are located via a lift or subway, accessed from Platform 1. The public conveniences are located through this subway at the top of the steps to Platforms 4–8. The platforms are all covered by a large canopy. To the rear of the station are some sidings.

Location

The station is situated on St George's Square, which was refurbished in 2009. The square has been made a pedestrian zone. No car parking is available in front of the station entrance, but it is nearby on Brook Street.

The station is situated a short distance from Huddersfield bus station, so interchange facilities are possible but limited. The Huddersfield FreeCityBus connects the railway station with the bus station, as well as the University of Huddersfield and other areas of the town centre.

Diagram of Huddersfield railway station

Huddersfield station platforms in 1987

Huddersfield railway station from Platform 2

There are six platforms:

• Platform 1 — Express services to Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport and Liverpool.
• Platform 2 — Terminus platform for Penistone Line services to/from Sheffield.
• Platform 4 — Stopping services to Leeds (4a) and Manchester Victoria (4b). (One evening train from Hull terminates at Platform 4a.)
• Platforms 5 and 6 — Terminus platforms for local services to/from Leeds (via Brighouse, Halifax and Bradford) and Wakefield Westgate.
• Platform 8 — Express services to Leeds, Hull, York, Scarborough, Middlesbrough and Newcastle Central.

Development

In 2010, Network Rail and First TransPennine Express completed a series of improvements to the station in order to provide better access for passengers. This consisted of two new lifts, and a new staircase to the subway on Platform 1. The new staircase replaced the existing staircase inside the booking hall. As well as this each platform received new information screens.

In early 2011, further improvement works were carried out to the concourse and waiting area. This phase of improvements was funded by the Railway Heritage Trust, Metro, Kirklees council and the National Station’s Improvement Programme. The main purpose of this was to reduce bottlenecks at peak times as well as general crowding. The redundant stable block on Platform 1 was also turned into a staff training centre and toilets.

In May 2013, ticket barriers were installed at the station.

Work is currently underway on Network Rail's Northern Hub project which will see electrification of the Huddersfield Line by 2018, allowing many of the services through the station to switch to newer, faster electric rolling stock.

Services

During Monday to Friday daytimes, TransPennine Express now operate hourly services to Newcastle Central (Journey time approx. 2 hours 10 mins), Hull (approx. 1 hour 20 mins), Scarborough (approx. 1 hour 45 mins), and Middlesbrough (approx. 2 hours 20 mins) plus one further service that terminates at York, all of which call at Leeds (approx. 20 mins), which creates a fast service roughly every 12 minutes. These are supplemented by stopping Northern Rail services. There are four trains per hour to Manchester Piccadilly (approx. 35 mins); two continue to Manchester Airport (approx. 15 mins from Manchester Piccadilly); and another continues to Liverpool Lime Street (approx. 50 mins from Manchester Piccadilly) via Warrington Central. Since the May 2014 timetable change, a further service runs over this line to Liverpool via Manchester Victoria.

Northern Rail operates hourly services to Sheffield (approx. 1 hour 20 mins), Manchester Victoria (approx. 50 mins), Wakefield Westgate (approx 35 mins), Selby via Bradford Interchange (approx. 1 hour 40 mins) and Leeds (approx. 40 mins).

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Manchester Piccadilly		First TransPennine Express North TransPennine		Leeds
				Leeds
Manchester Victoria				Leeds
Stalybridge				Dewsbury
				Dewsbury
Terminus		Northern Rail Caldervale Line		Brighouse
Slaithwaite		Northern Rail Huddersfield Line Manchester Victoria services		Terminus
Terminus		Northern Rail Huddersfield Line Leeds and Wakefield services		Deighton
Lockwood		Northern Rail Penistone Line		Terminus
Disused railways
Longwood and Milnsbridge		L&YR		Terminus

Kirklees South Lines

Legend To Heckmondwike To Dewsbury and Wakefield To Calderdale Cooper Bridge Bradley Deighton1982 station Deighton 1871–1930 Kirkheaton Newtown goods Huddersfield Fenay Bridge and Lepton Longwood and Milnsbridge Lockwood Golcar Kirkburton Netherton Berry Brow Slaithwaite Healey House Meltham Honley Marsden Brockholes To Saddleworth Thongsbridge Stocksmoor Holmfirth Shepley Denby Dale Shelley To Penistone Skelmanthorpe Cuckoos Nest Clayton West

Future services

In June 2014, Network Rail accepted Alliance Rail t/a Great North Western Railway Company (GNWR) to operate services six daily services in both directions between London Euston and Leeds and a daily service between Euston and Huddersfield in both directions, via Eccles and Warrington Bank Quay. The services are proposed to start in 2017 using Pendolino trains. However, in January 2015 the GNWR proposal was rejected.

Virgin Trains East Coast plan to operate services from London King's Cross via Leeds, beginning in 2019.

Steam trains

In keeping with the on-site Head of Steam railway pub, several steam trains still pass through Huddersfield station, including the Cotton Mill Express and the Scarborough Flyer.

On the disused side of Platform 2, an old carriage is bolted to the ground. Set in its window is a plaque commemorating 100 years of Steamtrain Hoorn Medemblik, a Dutch steam train.

External links

• "St George's Square down the Years", The Examiner, including images of Huddersfield railway station, 11 September 2012