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Rotherham Central railway station is in
Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
,
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...
, England. The station was originally named "Rotherham", becoming "Rotherham and Masborough" in January 1889 and finally "Rotherham Central" on 25 September 1950. The station has retained its "Central" suffix, despite being the only railway station in Rotherham since the closure of in 1988.


History

This is the fourth station to be built, within the town centre, on the line from . The first, a single platform terminus was built on what became the coal yard by the
South Yorkshire Railway The South Yorkshire Railway was a railway company with lines in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Initially promoted as the South Yorkshire Coal Railway in 1845, the railway was enabled by an act of 1847 as the South Yorkshire Doncaster and ...
(SYR). Today this approximates to the land off Brinsworth Street below the bridge which carries the Inner Relief Road over the railway. The SYR could not gain permission to pass below the already built line of the
Sheffield and Rotherham Railway The Sheffield and Rotherham Railway was a railway line in England, between the named places. The North Midland Railway was being promoted but its route was planned to go through Rotherham and by-pass Sheffield, so the S&RR was built as a connect ...
, opened in 1838. A few years later and following amalgamation into the
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsby ...
(MS&LR), a scheme was developed to fill the South Yorkshire Navigation, a canal already owned by that railway company and divert its course into the nearby River Don. As the Navigation already passed below the Sheffield and Rotherham line this would solve the problem, although until recent years the line was prone to flooding. The SYR already had a single line from
Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Situated between Manvers and Denaby Main, it lies on the River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road runs through the town. It is contigu ...
, on its
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
to
Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
line, towards Rotherham, running alongside the canal but only as far as the pottery and brickworks at Kilnhurst, leaving a gap of almost between. When the through line was completed a new, although temporary Rotherham station was built in the cut with access from the road above named "Amen Corner". This served the town from 1 August 1868. The line between Rotherham and Mexborough opened for goods traffic on 13 March 1871; passenger services began on 3 April 1871 but these continued to use the temporary station until the permanent Rotherham Central station was opened on 1 February 1874. This was an elongated affair with staggered platforms and a large stone main building adjacent to the "Statutes Fair Ground" (now the site of Rotherham's main police station). Originally the access was from Main Street, at the Sheffield end, and College Road, at the Doncaster end. In January 1889 this station was renamed Rotherham and Masborough. This station came under the ownership of the
Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...
(GCR) when the MS&LR changed its name in anticipation of its extension to London (
Marylebone station Marylebone station ( ) is a Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network it is also known as London Marylebone and is the southern te ...
), in 1897. The station was served by Sheffield Victoria - local trains and others ranging from the north east to the south coast, the Great Central Railway being involved in many operations jointly with other companies. The GCR amalgamated with other railways to form the
London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
(LNER) at the start of 1923; the LNER was itself nationalised at the start of 1948, becoming part of the newly formed
British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...
(BR). Following this, Rotherham and Masborough was renamed Rotherham Central on 25 September 1950. Its last main line train, a throw-back to pre-First World War One joint operations, being the Newcastle to Bournemouth express. This station was closed on 5 September 1966 and soon demolished. With the rationalisation of railways in the area in full swing plans to concentrate Sheffield's train services at
Sheffield Midland station Sheffield station, formerly ''Pond Street'' and later ''Sheffield Midland'', is a combined railway station and tram stop in Sheffield, England; it is the busiest station in South Yorkshire. Adjacent is Sheffield station/Sheffield Hallam Un ...
led to the building of a major new junction between the lines of the former Great Central and the
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...
at
Aldwarke Junction Aldwarke Junction at Parkgate near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England is a major railway junction. It was constructed in 1965 as a part of the Sheffield district rail rationalisation plan. Location The junction is northeast of the site of ...
north of Rotherham, allowing
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and ...
-
Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
trains to be routed onto the Midland line to
Sheffield Midland station Sheffield station, formerly ''Pond Street'' and later ''Sheffield Midland'', is a combined railway station and tram stop in Sheffield, England; it is the busiest station in South Yorkshire. Adjacent is Sheffield station/Sheffield Hallam Un ...
via
Rotherham Masborough Rotherham Masborough railway station was the main railway station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England from the 1840s until 1987, when most trains were rerouted via Rotherham Central. It had four platforms, with a large sandstone st ...
. With only one station in town, eventually, "Masborough" was dropped from the name of the remaining station. Rotherham Masborough was located almost half-a-mile away from Rotherham town centre and by the 1980s this was judged to be hindering the use of train services from the town.


Present station

In order to provide a more convenient service, a single line link was constructed from the Midland Line at Holmes Junction, on the Sheffield side of Masborough station, to pass below the Midland line and join the Great Central south of the planned new station. This was known as "The Holmes Chord". The first sod of earth on the site of the new station was ceremonially cut by the Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor J. L. Skelton on Tuesday, 8 July 1986. He also unveiled a plaque to commemorate the event. On Wednesday, 8 April 1987 the Chairman of the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority, Councillor Jack Meredith ceremonially fixed the last rail clip. The new Rotherham Central station was opened to passengers on 11 May 1987, is situated by the College Road bridge, near the town centre, the Doncaster-bound platform on the site of the 1871 platform but the Sheffield - bound platform is now opposite. The station buildings, of modern brick construction are at road level, with the entrance way through the ticket office; the platforms are approached by ramps. The whole scheme, the station and the Holmes Chord, cost £2,400,000, the P.T.E. funding the scheme with a contribution from Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to enhance platform shelter facilities. A grant for half the cost was obtained from the European Regional Development Fund. After just six months, the passenger usage was recorded as being up by 120% compared with the old Masborough station for the same period of 1986. The official opening date was set for 2 June, however this was postponed due to expected picketing by members of the National Union of Railwaymen demonstrating against the cutting of 11 jobs with the transfer of staff from Masborough and the concerns over the staff reduction on the platform at the new station, this being reduced to one person. Rotherham Masborough remained for the three per day Sheffield-York trains having regained its suffix, until its closure in 1988, when all services were concentrated on Central station. Clearly, this time the will for rationalising station names had vanished, because the sole remaining Rotherham station still retains its suffix "Central".


Redevelopment

It was announced by Northern that in 2010 the station would undergo a £8.5 million refurbishment, as part of the "Rotherham Renaissance" plans for the regeneration of the town. The 1980s station buildings and ramps would be replaced by a new travel centre, along with new platform canopies, lifts and CCTV. As part of this the car park would also be redesigned. A temporary station entrance would be constructed for passenger use while the buildings were replaced. Work on the project commenced on Monday, 22 February 2010 with a temporary station entrance being constructed, expected to come into operation during March. The temporary station opened on Friday 9 July and the old travel centre demolished a month later. After being dogged by delays, the new station buildings and platforms opened for public use on Friday 24 February 2012.


Tram Train

Rotherham Central Station is now served by the Sheffield Supertram Tram-Train, with services running up to 3 times per hour between Rotherham Parkgate (Retail World shopping centre) and Sheffield Cathedral stops. The service opened on 25 October 2018, and calls at its own low-level platforms to the south of the National Rail platforms, however they are directly connected to one another by a ramp.


Services

Currently the station has a half-hourly service on weekdays to Doncaster (with alternate trains extended through to Adwick) and hourly to
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
and , along with three trains per hour to Meadowhall and Sheffield. Three trains per day operate to
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
via the Dearne Valley Line. There are also two tram-trains an hour towards Rotherham Parkgate and towards Sheffield Cathedral. On Sundays, the station is served by an hourly service to Doncaster, a train every two hours to Leeds, two trains per day to York and either one or two trains per hour to Sheffield.
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 c ...
operates a very limited service from the station. There is one train per day westbound from to
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
and
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
and in the morning, Monday to Saturday. There are no eastbound or evening services which call at the station. The line through
Rotherham Masborough railway station Rotherham Masborough railway station was the main railway station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England from the 1840s until 1987, when most trains were rerouted via Rotherham Central. It had four platforms, with a large sandstone stati ...
survives, and is used by fast passenger services between Sheffield and Leeds/York to bypass Rotherham Central station. Freight services using the "Old Road", the original
North Midland Railway The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masbrough) and Leeds in 1840. At Derby, it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at wh ...
line to reach Chesterfield, avoiding Sheffield also traverse this route. The
2019 United Kingdom floods Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...
caused severe disruption to train and tram-train services running through the station, as the station and lines in the area were flooded. The tram-train service, and the Sheffield to Leeds (via Moorthorpe) route were both suspended.


References


External links

{{South Yorkshire railway stations Railway stations in Rotherham DfT Category E stations Former Great Central Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1868 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1987 Northern franchise railway stations Reopened railway stations in Great Britain Buildings and structures in Rotherham Railway stations served by TransPennine Express Sheffield Supertram stops