Moorthorpe railway station serves Moorthorpe and

South Kirkby South Kirkby is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England which is governed locally by South Kirkby and Moorthorpe Town Council. The town forms half of the civil parish of South Kirkby and Moorthorpe. The parish has a populatio ...

, near

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

, in the City of Wakefield district of

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 ...

. It lies on the Wakefield Line and the Dearne Valley Line, north of Sheffield and is served by Northern. The station was opened in May 1879, jointly by 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 ...

and North Eastern Railway, as part of their Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway scheme. A short chord was also built at the same time to link the S&K Joint line with the main

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 ...

to Leeds line at South Kirkby Junction. Upon opening, Moorthorpe marked the northern limit of the part of the line maintained by the Midland Railway; the southern end of the intersection bridge over the Doncaster to Leeds line, marked the actual boundary. North of that point, the North Eastern Railway undertook the maintenance. Moorthorpe station is of North Eastern Railway design, as is Pontefract Baghill. This latter connection is now part of the main line between Sheffield and Leeds, and is used by CrossCountry services between

Edinburgh Waverley Edinburgh Waverley railway station (also known simply as Waverley; gd, Waverley Dhùn Èideann) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. It is the north ...

and

Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...

, and beyond. In addition, local trains on the Leeds – Rotherham Central – Sheffield route ( Wakefield Line) use the spur and call at the station. This connecting line is now effectively the main line, and it splits from the S & K route immediately north of the station, with the track to York then bridging the GNR main line on its way northwards. This junction (and the adjacent loops to the south of the station) was controlled from the nearby Midland Railway signal box until May 2011, but following signalling equipment renewal work the area is now under the control of the ROC at York. After the station was reduced to the status of an unstaffed halt in the 1980s, the station building was converted into a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. This closed in the early 1990s and the building became derelict. However it has recently been restored by the town council, with funding from the Railway Heritage Trust, to include office space and a cafe. A footbridge was opened at the station at the end of May 2010; previously passengers had to cross the tracks at a flat crossing.

Services

Monday to Saturdays, an hourly service operates from Moorthorpe to

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 ...

via Wakefield Westgate and to

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 a ...

. An hourly service also runs on Sundays. Three trains each way operate on the Dearne Valley line 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 ...

and Sheffield Mondays to Saturdays, with two each way on Sundays.GB eNRT December 2019 Edition, Tables 31 & 33 The station is less than away from

South Elmsall railway station South Elmsall railway station serves the town of South Elmsall in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Wakefield Line operated by Northern northwest of Doncaster and was opened in 1866. Facilities The station is unstaffed and has had its ...

which means the South Kirkby/ South Elmsall area has a half-hourly service to Leeds. The station is less than away from Frickley Athletic F.C.

Tickets

The station is in West Yorkshire but South Yorkshire PTE tickets are valid to and from this station on services into South Yorkshire.

References

External links

{{West Yorkshire railway stations Railway stations in Wakefield DfT Category F1 stations Former Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway stations Northern franchise railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1879