The Wakefield line is the name given to one of the rail services in the West Yorkshire Metro area of northern England. The service connects Leeds with Wakefield, Sheffield and Doncaster. Part of the Line forms a section of the East Coast Main Line route to London, with electric trains running on services between Leeds and Doncaster. The local stopping service is operated by Northern Rail; it is supplemented by frequent InterCity services between Leeds, Wakefield and either Doncaster or Sheffield. Long distance services using this line as part of longer journeys are run by GNER, Midland Mainline and Virgin CrossCountry trains. Parts of the line over which the Wakefield Line trains run are also used by the Huddersfield and Pontefract Lines.

West Yorkshire Metrocards are available for all trains as far as South Elmshall on the Doncaster branch; and to Moorthorpe on the Sheffield branch of the Line.

The Route

At the time of the 1923 Grouping the line was owned by different railway companies:

• Leeds Central station - Wakefield: Great Northern Railway (GNR). Wakefield station was jointly owned by the GNR and Great Central Railways (GCR). This section is part of the main Leeds - London line.
• Wakefield - Doncaster: West Riding and Grimsby Joint Railway (WRGJt) (joint GNR/GCR ownership).
• Moorthorpe Junction (near South Elmshall - Swinton: Swinton & Knottingley Joint Railway (MidR/NER).
• Swinton - Sheffield Midland Railway (MidR)

Leeds Central - Wakefield Westgate

• Beeston (closed?)
• here is Ardsley Tunnel
• Ardsley
• Outwood (was Lofthouse and Outwood) here were junctions with two joint undertakings:
  • East & West Yorkshire Union: a short line connecting the GN/MidR main lines via Rothwell
  • Methley Joint Railway: [joint owners: GNR/Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR)/North Eastern Railway (NER)]. The line connected to various lines in the Castleford area
• Wrenthorpe Junction: line to Dewsbury
• Wakefield Westgate station

Wakefield - Doncaster

Some stations on this line may have closed

• Sandal & Agbrigg Closed to passengers 5 November 1957; reopened ..?
• Hare Park & Crofton between here and Nostell were two junctions connecting with L&YR and GCR lines
• Nostell  ?now renamed Fitzwilliam
• Hemsworth
• here is a junction with the Hull and Barnsley Railway (HBR)
• here there is a junction where the Wakefield Line service to Sheffield branches south.
• South Elmshall
• Hampole (further junctions with the HBR)
• Carcroft
• Adwick
• Bentley
• Doncaster

Sandal - Sheffield

Part of this section is also worked as the Dearne Valley Line:

• Moorthorpe & South Kirby closed?
• Frickley : branch to Frickley Colliery
• Thurnscoe was Hickleton & Thurnscoe
  • here at Hickleton Junction the line called the Dearne Valley Railway (worked by the NER) had a junction with the route
• Goldthorpe
• Bolton-on-Dearne
  • here were junctions with a GCR cross-country line; from here both the MidR and the GCR had parallel lines following the course of the River Don; the Wakefield line now follows the GCR line [is the MidR line closed?], which had stations at
• Swinton
• Kilnhurst
• Parkgate & Aldwarke
• Rotherham Road
• Rotherham Central The MidR had two stations here: Rotherham Masborough and Rotherham Westgate
• Meadowhall
• Sheffield

See also

Metro (West Yorkshire)