2tph from Otley to Bradford is pretty unlikely - The current Ilkley to Bradford services carry a lot a of fresh air, so this existing service can be utilised better by having a well put together timetable with connection times of 5-10 minutes between the Otley to Leeds services and the Ilkley to Bradford services.
Ultimately, I suppose the answer to the question of how to connect Skipton/Ilkley/Bradford to Harrogate is... change at Leeds. Fifty or sixty years ago, if the routes between Skipton and Ilkley and Otley to Arthington hadn't been pulled and subsequently built on (with the through platforms 3 & 4 at Ilkley also going) there may have been more noise from local groups for some form of reinstating. These days, crayons are all we have
There was one some years ago IIRC - the problem is that the A59 passes nowhere of any significance en route, while the alternative via Ilkley and Otley has traditionally been the bus route to Leeds.
But interestingly they were both in the West Riding! It's odd; there used to be a route across the Dales from Garsdale to Northallerton, and this southerly route from Skipton via Ilkley, Otley and Arthington, but never a direct route mirroring the A59. I guess it was too difficult to engineer, even for Railway Mania times... and difficult to do now, unless you swing north a bit, skirt Menwith Hill (which doesn't exist), south of Killinghall and connect into the former curve to Ripon to enter Harrogate from the north.
But for the the level demand probably adequate. The fact its a significant detour doesn't really matter plenty of those on the rail network, the key issue is journey time and if there are any faster alternative. By car its about 35 mins, I guess a reasonably direct bus would be about 45+ mins and the train is about 1h 30 perhaps slightly depending on connections at Leeds.
Hard to see what that would look like in reality, unless you plan for a whole lot of tunneling. The route of the old Otley branch from Menston is pretty much clear of obstruction and could be rebuilt for a fraction of the cost of a 'proper spur' to the Airport (which is reckoned at £350million). WYCA's mass transit plans suggest a tram-train option for Otley which would allow a route in to the centre rather than the old station site on the bypass.
I didn't say that nobody goes anywhere else. I said that the majority want to go to Leeds. Therefore the passenger numbers on other potential routes are unlikely to make them viable.
Indeed Leeds is the Transport hub and the major centre of West Yorkshire. In terms of commuting Leeds will be the primary destination but I think also has the highest potential work from home jobs so could see a bigger reduction in commuting long term. Leeds will survive as a shopping centre and destination, Bradford might just about hang on, but the rest of them Dewsbury already a goner, Huddersfield, Halifax, Wakefield, etc to follow.
They weren’t even rammed in the peaks pre-COVID nor indeed were the Skipton - Bradford’s. Bear in mind these routes are both in the Bradford catchment area. Bradford as a leisure destination is also dead in the water.
They're well used by school kids going to the likes of Ikley Brammar, Bradford Grammar, Menston St Mary's and theres one at Guiseley that I can't remember the name of.
None of which sees them go physically into Bradford. You will always get trains of kids going to school wherever (Pontefract to Streethouse for instance) but would re-opening the Otley line at great expense justify it for a couple of school trains a day?
I'm not suggesting a direct Otley/Harrogate train at all, merely that at times a half-hourly Ilkley to Bradford train can be justified, although as previously stated they do carry around quite a lot of fresh air during the rest of the day that can be filled by having a reasonably short connection time between these services and a potential Leeds to Otley/Harrogate via Guiseley service - Realistically thats probably the best comprimise between having a Leeds biased service pattern and links to Bradford.
I always think it's interesting to compare the relationship between the cities of Leeds and Bradford with that between the cities of Manchester and Salford. I don't think of Leeds as the centre of the West Riding universe (though it is the centre of mine) but the "everyone goes to Leeds" argument doesn't seem to fully explain the lack of investment, including in rail. Would Bradford Central Station connecting Forster Square and Interchange have made a difference, if it had been done?
The Ilkley/Skipton - Bradford services can justify a half hourly service in the peaks (not just Bradford flows or school flows but flows of people working in the other major towns en route. If they weren’t in the Metro area they would have been reduced to hourly between the peaks years ago.
We’ll never know but the usage may have slightly increased with cross-Bradford flows (Halifax - Shipley for instance). I don’t think it would encourage more people to go to Bradford than now though as the catchment area is exactly the same.
Bradford died as a city once Leeds got its act together 30 years ago. Businesses moved east due to the better business rates on offer and once a cluster of firms move there more inevitably follow. Look at Little Germany in Bradford. It’s ripe for small or start up businesses but remains largely empty. A wonderful district like this would have been full if it was in Leeds or Manchester.
Leeds is the centre of employment, retail, leisure, population, sport and higher education (among others) in quite a wide region, not just West Yorkshire (it also dominates North Yorkshire as far as Harrogate/Scarborough and competes strongly with Sheffield in South Yorkshire, for example). Travel demand from everywhere will be higher to Leeds than it will be to Wakefield. Leeds is also a key hub on the Road and Rail networks, so many journeys will need to route via Leeds for further onward travel. I doubt many people travel to Wakefield for it's connections.
We are the same. Bradford is closer than Leeds but it would never occur to us to go to Bradford for shopping or a meal out. Leeds, Skipton or Harrogate would be the options, in descending order of likelihood. Perhaps with a direct train to Harrogate it might jump up the list!
www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk
