Morley railway station serves the town of
Morley Morley may refer to:
Places England
* Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish
* Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish
* Morley, Cheshire, a village
* Morley, County Durham, a village
* Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish
* M ...
in
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
The station is on the
Huddersfield Line
The Huddersfield line is the main railway line between the English cities of Leeds and Manchester, via Huddersfield. It is one of the busiest MetroTrain lines. The route travels south-south-west from Leeds through Dewsbury. After a short west ...
and is currently operated by
Northern. It is located approximately south-west of
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
at the northern end of the
Morley Tunnel which passes beneath the town.
History
Morley railway station was opened by the
London and North Western Railway on 15 September 1848.
Originally named ''Morley'', it was renamed ''Morley Low'' on 30 September 1951,
owing to it being far below the town, under which the
Morley Tunnel passes.
The town's other station (known as "
Morley Top"), which was situated nearer to the town centre and served by trains on the
Bradford-to-
Ardsley line of the
Great Northern Railway, was closed by
British Railways on 2 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 disabled people 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.
In 2023, relocation of the station about 240ft (73m) from its current position was underway to allow for longer platforms at the resited station.
Patronage growth
Patronage at Morley station has increased remarkably in recent years; this is shown in the annual figures published by the
Office of Rail Regulation
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways.
ORR regulates Network Rail by setting it ...
(ORR).
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. The figures for 2010/11 increased by 21% on the previous year, to 328,558 journeys per year. Actual growth may be higher since the ORR data does not accurately take account of the multi-modal 'MetroCard' season tickets issued by the
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) is the combined authority for West Yorkshire in England. It was established by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 on 1 April 2014. It is a s ...
, which are valid for journeys to and from this station.
Current problems
![Morley station, March 2020 14](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Morley_station%2C_March_2020_14.jpg)
The increase in demand, combined with growth elsewhere on the line, means that overcrowding in the morning peak, particularly for commuters heading towards
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
, is becoming more of an issue.
Despite this commuter growth little has been done to bring this station into the 21st century. For example, only one platform is accessible for disabled passengers,
there is insufficient parking,
access routes to and from the station are often overgrown with weeds, and there are frequent drainage problems which all combine to make the station not as pleasant as other stations in West Yorkshire. In 2012 a "Friends of Morley station" group was formed, and is addressing some of these issues. Work to improve the car park and drainage commenced in February 2013.
The ''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 could put some users off as it is a ten to fifteen minutes walk from the centre of Morley. The shortest walking route being via Queen Street, Ackroyd Street and then via the station steps (approx. 90) to the side of the Miners Arms Pub.
The nearest bus service to the station is the 46 operated by First. This runs along King George Avenue and New Bank Street. The nearest stops are only a few minutes walk away.
There's no taxi rank at the station, but there are a number of local cab firms in the area.
An improved station, from the current one, is planned to be opened in the summer of 2023.
Services
![TPE 185151 at Morley, July 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/TPE_185151_at_Morley%2C_July_2020.jpg)
Morley railway station is on the
Huddersfield Line
The Huddersfield line is the main railway line between the English cities of Leeds and Manchester, via Huddersfield. It is one of the busiest MetroTrain lines. The route travels south-south-west from Leeds through Dewsbury. After a short west ...
. , it is served by two separate hourly services throughout the day.
TransPennine Express
TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major ci ...
provides an hourly stopping service between and while Northern provides an hourly service mostly between and via , , and . The two services combine to provide a half-hourly service to/from , and ; diverging to the west of the latter.
On Sundays, TransPennine Express provide an hourly stopping service between and .
Tickets
Ticket machines have been provided on both platforms and these have recently been brought into use. It is expected that Morley will become a penalty fare station in due course. Passengers can also purchase tickets from the conductor on the train if they have not booked in advance.
On some occasions staff are on hand to sell tickets. This would otherwise present a problem at peak times, as one person cannot possibly sell tickets to every passenger on a crowded train; passengers travelling into Leeds therefore would have to queue up at the excess fares kiosk in Leeds to purchase tickets on arrival, in order to pass through the
ticket barriers
In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A sys ...
. It is, however, possible to buy tickets to or from Morley in the usual way at any staffed station, with the nearest staffed stations being Dewsbury and Leeds. It is also possible to buy mobile tickets in advance online using the Northern App.
Northern (train operating company)
Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT), after the previous operator Arriva Rail Nor ...
.
An alternative is to purchase a 'MetroCard' season ticket offered by
West Yorkshire Metro
Metro is the passenger information brand used by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE) at the same time as the metropolitan county of West Yor ...
. 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 is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
residents who hold a Metro-issued
Concessionary Pass are entitled, after 09:30, to purchase a ticket for any rail journey wholly within West Yorkshire for half the normal fare.
This can be combined with a standard ticket beyond West Yorkshire, and hence longer journeys can also be made slightly cheaper. For example, travelling from Morley to Manchester Victoria costs significantly less by travelling to on the concessionary rate, leaving only the relatively short Todmorden to Manchester journey to be paid for in full.
Notes and references
*Haigh, A. (1978 reprint) ''The Railways of Yorkshire - A New Edition'' Dalesman Publishing, Clapham, North Yorkshire.
External links
The Morley Railway System - Gee's Historic Morley Pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morley Railway Station
Railway stations in Leeds
DfT Category F1 stations
Former London and North Western Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848
Northern franchise railway stations
Morley, West Yorkshire
Railway stations served by TransPennine Express