1. History

2. Facilities

3. Services

4. References and notes

5. Literature

6. External links

| lowusage1314 = {{increase}} 5,666
| lowusage1415 = {{decrease}} 5,406
| lowusage1516 = {{increase}} 5,696
| lowusage1617 = {{increase}} 6,148
| lowusage1718 = {{increase}} 6,450
| dft_category = F1
}}

Pontefract Baghill railway station is the least busy of the three railway stations in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. The other stations, Monkhill and Tanshelf, both lie on the Pontefract Line, while Baghill lies on the Dearne Valley Line {{convert|21+1/4|mi|km|0}} south of York towards Sheffield.

History

The station was opened together with the Ferrybridge to Moorthorpe section of the Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway. Public passenger train services began on 1 July 1879, freight traffic had already started by then. The design of the station followed basic principles of the North Eastern Railway, it was, however, larger than the other stations opened on the line at the same time.^[1]

Pontefract Baghill was also once linked to the Wakefield, Pontefract & Goole main line by means of a short chord to {{stnlnk|Pontefract Monkhill}} near the intersection of the two lines as shown on the accompanying RCH map. This connection closed in November 1964,^[2] but the bay platform it once used at the northern end can still be made out. Two short curves north of the station near Ferrybridge connect the Dearne Valley Line to the western end of Knottingley station westbound and the eastern end of Monkhill station (both on the Pontefract Line), but are now only in use for freight and diverted passenger services.

In the Strategic Rail Authority's 2002/3 financial year, only 15 people bought tickets for journeys from Pontefract Baghill station, and 21 bought tickets for journeys ending there,^[3] making it the sixth least busy station in the United Kingdom at that time. The annual usage in recent years is still considerably lower than that of Monkhill and Tanshelf stations.

Facilities

The station has very basic amenities - it is unstaffed and has no ticketing provision of any kind, so anyone travelling from here needs to buy their ticket on the train or in advance of travel. The only other facilities offered are bench seating, a public telephone and timetable information posters (the old main building still stands but is in private use). Step-free access is available to both platforms.^[4]

Services

The low level of usage can be attributed to there being only four trains each day (including Sundays), two serving the station northbound to York and two southbound to Sheffield, at times that are not favourable to commuters.^[5][6] Furthermore, the neighbouring cities of Leeds and Wakefield cannot be reached by direct services from the station.

References and notes

Literature

• Body, G. (1988), PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, {{ISBN|1-85260-072-1}}

External links

• {{commons category-inline|Pontefract Baghill railway station}}

• {{cite web | url = http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~owend/I/R/stnpages/pontefractbaghill.html | author = Owen Dunn | title = Pontefract Baghill | date = 17 May 2010}} The station in 2010.

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