Brighouse railway station

Brighouse
Platform 1
Location
Place Brighouse
Local authority Calderdale
Grid reference SE146224
Operations
Station code BGH
Managed by Northern Rail
Number of platforms 2
Live arrivals/departures and station information
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 * 64,419
2005/06 * 72,229
2006/07 * 87,073
2007/08 * 89,309
2008/09 * 0.159 million
2009/10 * 0.180 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE West Yorkshire (Metro)
Zone 4
History
Original company Manchester and Leeds Railway
Pre-grouping Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
1840 opened
1970 closed
2000 reopened
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Brighouse from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Brighouse railway station serves the town of Brighouse in West Yorkshire, England. The station lies on the Caldervale Line and the Huddersfield Line running west from Leeds. The station reopened in 2000 and is managed by Northern Rail but is also served by Grand Central.

Contents

History

Brighouse railway station was first opened in October 1840, as a main line station operated by the Manchester and Leeds Railway. The station was initially known as Brighouse for Bradford, as no stations had yet been built in Bradford itself. Similarly, Elland station served Halifax, and Huddersfield was served by the station at Cooper Bridge.

A lithograph was produced by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait showing the station in 1845.[1]

In 1847 Brighouse station came under the operation of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway as the M&L was incorporated into this company. The station remained under L&Y operation until it itself was incorporated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923, throughout which period the station's importance gradually declined as other lines connecting Manchester and Leeds were built via Halifax and Huddersfield bypassing Brighouse.

Brighouse station passed into British Railways ownership upon nationalisation in 1949, and was operated as part of the North Eastern Region. The decline in passenger numbers continued, and the station was eventually closed by British Rail in January 1970, remaining closed until 2000, although the line remained open throughout this time, being used by freight trains, and as a diversionary route for passenger trains when other lines were closed.

Brighouse's station re-opened on Sunday 28 May 2000. Brighouse also serves the town of Elland some 2 miles (3.2 km) away. Plans for a station in Elland to open at the same time as Brighouse were cancelled due to lack of funds.

Since 27 April 2008 bus service MC4 has provided a connection with most Leeds via Dewsbury trains to/from Elland. This was replaced in early 2010 by a revised service E8

Services

Northern Rail

Brighouse is served by Caldervale Line trains, with one train every hour running to Selby via Halifax, Bradford and Leeds and one train every hour in the other direction to Wakefield Westgate via Huddersfield.

Since December 2008, the station is also served by an hourly Leeds - Dewsbury - Hebden Bridge - Manchester Victoria stopping service (Monday - Saturday daytime). This provides a considerable service improvement providing both a twice-hourly frequency for journeys to/from Leeds and a reduction in journey time taking only 35 minutes to travel to Leeds via Dewsbury rather than 50 minutes via Halifax. Even without this important improvement in services, usage of the station has increased year on year since the re-opening.

The station has two platforms.

Grand Central - West Riding

The station now sees three return services per day to London Kings Cross via Mirfield, Wakefield Kirkgate, Pontefract and Doncaster, which commenced on 23 May 2010. In January 2009, Grand Central Railway have had their application for train paths to run a Bradford Interchange (via Halifax) to London service accepted by the Office of Rail Regulation.[2]

Customer Information System

Northern Rail and Metro secured joint funding from the Department for Transport's Access for All – Small Schemes initiative to provide a new Customer Information System at the station.[3]

New LCD style customer information screens with real-time information have been installed on both platforms linked into an improved public address system providing accurate, reliable audio/visual train running information to passengers.

In addition; Northern Rail has announced plans to replace the station's HelpPoint intercom system with a more updated reliable model. This will enable passengers to speak to a member of staff in Northern's control centre for information or to summon assistance in emergency situations.[4]

Station panorama

Panorama of Brighouse station in February 2009

References

  1. ^ "Science and Society Picture Library - Brighouse Station". http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10301524&wwwflag=2&imagepos=1. Retrieved 27 March 2009. 
  2. ^ ORR Track Access Applications Decision for ECML Passenger Services - 28 January 2009 ORR Website; Retrieved 2009-01-29
  3. ^ Northern Rail Media Centre - New CIS for 22 Stations Northern Rail website; Retrieved 2009-01-29
  4. ^ WYPTA Working Group Report November 2008 West Yorkshire Metro website; Retrieved 2009-01-29

External links

Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Mirfield   Grand Central
West Riding		   Halifax
Disused Railways
L&YR
MetroTrain lines

■ Airedale · ■ Caldervale · ■ Dearne Valley · ■ Hallam · ■ Harrogate · ■ Huddersfield · ■ Leeds-Bradford · ■ Penistone · ■ Pontefract · ■ Wakefield · ■ Wharfedale · ■ York & Selby
City of Bradford
Calderdale
Kirklees
City of Leeds
City of Wakefield
Outside West Yorkshire,
but within the
West Yorkshire Metro area