| Wakefield Kirkgate | |
|---|---|
_-wikipedia-.jpg) |
|
| Entrance to the railway station viewed from the car park | |
| Location | |
| Place | Wakefield |
| Local authority | City of Wakefield |
| Coordinates | 53°40′44″N 1°29′17″W / 53.679°N 1.488°WCoordinates: 53°40′44″N 1°29′17″W / 53.679°N 1.488°W |
| Grid reference | SE339204 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | WKK |
| Managed by | Northern Rail |
| Platforms in use | 3 |
| Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail |
|
| Annual rail passenger usage | |
| 2004/05 * | 372 |
| 2005/06 * | 564 |
| 2006/07 * | 769 |
| 2007/08 * | 0.360 million |
| Passenger Transport Executive | |
| PTE | West Yorkshire (Metro) |
| Zone | 3 |
| 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 passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Wakefield Kirkgate from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. | |
Wakefield Kirkgate railway station is a railway station in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Unlike the nearby Westgate mainline station, Kirkgate is unstaffed[1] and served mostly by local trains. It is on the Hallam, Pontefract and Huddersfield lines.
Contents |
History
The original Kirkgate station was opened by the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1840, and it remained the only station in central Wakefield until Westgate was opened in 1867. The present building dates from 1854.
Some demolition work took place in 1972, removing buildings on the island platform and a roof which covered the whole station. A wall remains as evidence of these buildings, with an original ironwork canopy. Following this, Kirkgate was listed in 1979.[2]
January 2008 saw the demolition of the former goods warehouse to make way for a new depot for Network Rail.[3]
In October 2008, part of the station wall collapsed, destroying a parked car.[4]
Current condition
Since Westgate has been developed as Wakefield's main station, Kirkgate has been neglected and the station is in a poor state of repair. It is unstaffed and, despite the presence of CCTV[1], the local consensus is that the current state of the facilities discourages use of the station.[5]
The station is owned by Network Rail, with Northern Rail leasing the facilities they use. Such maintenance work as takes place is focused on these leased areas, leaving the rest of the station derelict. Plans to redevelop the station[6] have so far come to nothing. The ongoing failure to improve Kirkgate has led to criticism of the main stakeholders; Northern Rail, Wakefield city council and owner Network Rail.[7] Metro, the local passenger transport executive, is working on a master plan for the station, including redevelopment of the existing facilities.[8]
A local newspaper, the Wakefield Express, has launched a 'Staff Our Station' campaign and petition[9] to push for improved safety at the station following a rape,[10] a serious assault and several robberies. In July 2009, Kirkgate station was visited by Secretary of State for Transport minister Lord Adonis who dubbed the station 'the worst medium-large station in Britain'[11] following an inspection by the government and Network Rail, after the 'Staff Our Station' campaign reached Parliament in London. In the same week that Lord Adonis visited the station, a man was brutally attacked at the station with a baseball bat[12], and improvement plans for the station were drawn up by Network Rail, Northern Rail and Wakefield council.
The figures for annual passenger usage at Kirkgate are comparatively low, with only 769 tickets sold to/from the station in the 2006/7 financial year.[13]This is because most tickets are bought to Wakefield Stations, therefore it is hard to determine the true use. The station is mostly used as an interchange between the lines that serve it, with over 61,000 interchanges during the same period.[13]
A pub outside the station, the Wakefield Arms, is also Grade II listed[2] but has been closed since 2003. The building has suffered from vandalism.[14]
Kirkgate station is believed by some to be haunted, with stories circulating about paranormal activity. Apparently the ghost of a woman in Victorian dress has been seen wandering the subway between platforms 1 and 2.[15]
Station layout
The station currently consists of a main building with platform 1 and an island platform (2 and 3) linked by a subway. Trains for Leeds, Castleford and Normanton on the Hallam Line serve platform 1, as well as trains for Huddersfield. Platform 2 is served by Barnsley, Meadowhall, Sheffield and Nottingham trains, and platform 3 has services towards Streethouse, Featherstone, Pontefract Tanshelf, Pontefract Monkhill and Knottingley.
Services
Current services
All services through this station are now (2009) operated by Northern Rail, having previously been operated by Arriva Trains Northern and Northern Spirit since the privatisation of British Rail which occurred in stages between 1994 and 1997.
- Hallam Line - There are three trains per hour to Leeds and to Sheffield two express and one stopping service.
- Huddersfield Line - There is an hourly service from Westgate to Huddersfield with no Sunday service.
- Pontefract Line - There is an hourly service to Knottingley railway station via Pontefract Monkhill with no service on Sundays.
- Leeds to Nottingham - There is an hourly service every day in both directions, via Barnsley, Sheffield and Chesterfield, since December 2008.[16]
Grand Central proposals
The station may now see regular services to London Kings Cross via Pontefract and Doncaster. In January 2009, Grand Union have had their application for train paths to run a Bradford Interchange to London service accepted by the Office of Rail Regulation[17]. Three trains per day will operate initially now that full approval for the service has been granted [18] - these will use Class 180 Adelante DMUs and will start running at the May 2010 timetable change.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Rail | ||||
| Northern Rail | ||||
| Terminus | Northern Rail
Mondays-Saturdays only
|
|||
| Northern Rail
Leeds-Nottingham
|
||||
| From May 2010 | ||||
| Pontefract Monkhill | Grand Central London-Bradford |
Brighouse |
References
- ^ a b "Station Facilities: Wakefield Kirkgate". National Rail. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/wkk/details.html#Staffing. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
- ^ a b "List of Listed Buildings, Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Buildings of Local Interest" (PDF). City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. 2005-04-26. http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/EC7F3485-64A8-4D27-B478-7DB069212F91/0/Listed_buildings_26th_April_2005.pdf. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
- ^ "Going..Going..nearly Gone..!". Wakey S&T..Online. http://wakeysignals.bravehost.com/demo.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Wright, Rebecca (2008-10-03). "Car crushed as Kirkgate Station wall collapses". Wakefield Express. http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/Car-crushed-as-Kirkgate-Station.4554702.jp. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
- ^ "Rail Safety at Kirkgate and Services on the Pontefract Line" (PDF). City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/MG/Published/C00000222/M00008669/AI00019745/$RailSafetyonthePontefractLineAppendices.docA.ps.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ http://www.wymetro.com/ProjectsAndPlans/SchemesUnderDevelopment/WakefieldKirkgateStationRedevelopment.htm
- ^ Turton, Victoria (2009-01-30). "Report about 'putrid' Wakefield Kirkgate station ignored for two years". Wakefield Express. http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/Report-about-39putrid39-Wakefield-Kirkgate.4929138.jp. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
- ^ "Rail Working Group: RailPlan Update" (PDF). West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority. 2009-03-29. http://www.wyita.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/29629400-9F5D-415B-BA82-2E58FBD76B8B/0/RWG23MARCH2009ITEM6.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ "Kirkgate Station Petition". Wakefield Express. http://www2.wakefieldtoday.co.uk/kirkgatestation.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ "Kirkgate rapist jailed indefinitely". Wakefield Express. 2009-04-03. http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/Kirkgate-rapist-jailed-indefinitely.5140570.jp. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ "Lord Adonis criticises Network Rail in letter about state of Wakefield Kirkgate". Wakefield Express. Johnston Press Digital Publishing. 30 July 2009. http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/kirkgate-station/Lord-Adonis-criticises-Network-Rail.5510870.jp. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ Bradley, Lisa (2009-07-29). "Man attacked at Wakefield Kirkgate Station". Wakefield Express. http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/Man-attacked-at--Wakefield.5504174.jp. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ a b Office of Rail Regulation statistics
- ^ "Shock as pub becomes den for junkies and squatters". Wakefield Express. 2004-05-14. http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/Shock-as-pub-becomes-den.791353.jp. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
- ^ http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/video-test/Who-ya-gonna-call.4649874.jp Wakefield Express article on ghost hunts
- ^ http://www.northernrail.org/pdfs/timetables/20081117/33.pdf
- ^ ORR Track Access Applications Decision for ECML Passenger Services - 28 January 2009ORR Website; Retrieved 2009-01-29
- ^ Grand Central Rail - Future Developmentswww.grandcentralrail.co.uk; Retrieved 2009-08-21
External links
- Wakefield Council Report on the current state of the station, including photographs
- Wakefield Express - Report about 'putrid' Wakefield Kirkgate station ignored for two years - 30 January 2009
- The Signalling Centre at Wakefield
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