Possible Yorkshire station reopenings?

[Welshman]

Stations For (Re)Opening:

I haven't quoted your full list as it's rather long!

My initial reaction was "and what will WYPTE do with the remaining millions of pounds they've suddenly been allocated?

Seriously, your list seems to be mainly reinstating stations and lines which were long-since closed. And I do wonder if a good business case could be made for some of them.

I will restrict my particular comments to three, as I have lived/worked in/near to the communities they served:-

Golcar - wherever you site a re-opened station here, it will be in the wrong place, i.e. on the valley floor, when most of the village, and certainly the parts where there have been recent housing developments, are on the hillside. I worked in Golcar from 1971-1978, shortly after the original four-tracked station was closed, and learned the people did not miss it - it was too much like hard work walking down or up Station Rd, especially with heavy cases after a holiday, when Hanson & Huddersfield Corporation dropped them off at their doors. And the situation hasn't changed - with the excellent bus service provided by First Huddersfield & K-Line serving the Leymoor Rd and Scar Lane arteries, I think a new station is a non-starter!

The same could be said for Hipperholme - down in a valley with most of the housing on the hillside, and the mills and "Sunny Vale Amusement Park" long-gone.

I also have my doubts re Elland. I sometimes used the old station and very often I was the only passenger! For, apart from the crematorium and the power station[now long-gone], it didn't serve a particularly large market - most of the people are the other side of Elland Bridge, and, rather than get a bus to the station and then board a train, they'll stay on the bus to Huddersfield, Wakefield, Brighouse or Halifax - wherever they're going. I note the new station may be sited a little further along the line, near Lowfields Industrial Estate, but there again, it's a fair trek [or bus ride] from the existing areas of population, and, once people are on the bus, they'll stay there.

To end on a positive note:-

I think your suggestion re a possible re-opening of the line to Ripon should be considered - if not to through to Northallerton, then at least from Leeds and Harrogate. I think Transdev already run a frequent high-quality service [route 36], linking Ripon with Harrogate and Leeds, so the need is there, and not only would the city of Ripon benefit from a re-opened railway station, but it could also be a convenient railhead for some of the Yorkshire Dales.

In conclusion, unfortunately, we don't have unlimited funds, so, let's constrain our wish list to those which would have the best chance of having a business case, and show good returns for the investment!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Stations For (Re)Opening:

Huddersfield Line

...
Longwood & Milnsbridge
Golcar
...

At risk of sounding like a broken record, re-opening both of the above stations on their original sites is never going to happen, there simply isn't enough capacity on the line for them both to be served, and neither of the original sites are very convenient for the places they're supposed to serve.
The alternative proposal for a 'Golcar & Milnsbridge' station on the site of the former Milnsbridge Goods yard is also a compromise of course, but given the costs of opening any new station and making sure that it actually receives a service, we should really get the hang of walking before we try to run!

 

[deltic08]

Is there any purpose in opening to Tadcaster as it is a rather long way round and Tadcaster is served with a good bus service to Leeds ?. The only disadvantage is that the bus terminates at the bus station which is a good walk away from Leeds railway station, though during the day there is a half hourly service passing Cross Gates station.

If the line is re-opened then there would probably be a park and ride station at Scholes adjacent to the A64. The bus to Leeds would pass this.

2000 houses planned at Thorpe Arch adjacent to old trackbed. Planning permission will only be approved if developer contributes towards reinstatement from Church Fenton. This saves turnback infrastructure work at Micklefield as turnback would be at Thorpe Arch instead. £12M saved at Micklefield would reinstate from Church Fenton as far as the A64. The difficulty is persuading West and North Yorkshire to jointly promote it. Thorpe Arch and Micklefield in West Yorks, Tadcaster and Church Fenton between in North Yorks. Network Rail agrees with proposal but initiative has to come from local authorities.

Reinstatement to Scholes where 7,000 houses are planned would cost £17M with eventual extension to Wetherby. Trouble is Leeds City Council doesn't believe in reinstatement. Would rather use buses.

 

[snowball]

Are you going to resolve your contradictory statements about whether or not there's a proposed route through Wetherby?

 

[deltic08]

Are you going to resolve your contradictory statements about whether or not there's a proposed route through Wetherby?

My post was not even slightly contradictory. I already answered you fully on the same day you asked the question. The proposal is to reinstate a railway line from Wetherby to Church Fenton. There is a route from Wetherby to Thorpe Arch clear of development and buildings but the final route will be chosen by consultants appointed for the environmental impact and engineering studies. Could be that the cheapest option is to put it back exactly where it used to be with a station on the original site but that is unlikely with a dozen houses in the way and a much lowered A1M at Wetherby. That is called route optioneering. Can't be clearer than that.

 

[snowball]

My post was not even slightly contradictory.

The contradiction I saw was not within one of your posts but between two of your posts. In post #3 you said

Harrogate/Wetherby-Tadcaster-Church Fenton no demolition required as proposed route is property-free.

The apparent meaning of that is a proposed route from Harrogate to Church Fenton via Wetherby and Tadcaster. Maybe the "/" between Harrogate and Wetherby was intended to indicate that you meant something different but if so the meaning remains unclear. What did you mean by this statement?

The proposal is to reinstate a railway line from Wetherby to Church Fenton.

So your mention of Harrogate was irrelevant?

There is a route from Wetherby to Thorpe Arch clear of development and buildings

I would describe that as "a route from a point east of Wetherby and the A1(M) to Thorpe Arch".

but the final route will be chosen by consultants appointed for the environmental impact and engineering studies. Could be that the cheapest option is to put it back exactly where it used to be with a station on the original site but that is unlikely with a dozen houses in the way and a much lowered A1M at Wetherby. That is called route optioneering. Can't be clearer than that.

Are these studies likely to happen? Is anyone going to fund them? Do you represent an organisation? Does it have a name, funds, members, a website?

 

[deltic08]

The contradiction I saw was not within one of your posts but between two of your posts. In post #3 you said The apparent meaning of that is a proposed route from Harrogate to Church Fenton via Wetherby and Tadcaster. Maybe the "/" between Harrogate and Wetherby was intended to indicate that you meant something different but if so the meaning remains unclear. What did you mean by this statement?

So your mention of Harrogate was irrelevant?



Your question was specific to Wetherby-Church Fenton. Benefit/cost analysis hopefully completed for inclusion in Network Rail September 2014 RUS(2019-24).

We are £15,000 short of the total required for this study so if you have this amount handy?

 

[snowball]

Your question was specific to Wetherby-Church Fenton.

I had no idea this was a separate proposal from your earlier remarks which included Harrogate, or that your posts were meant to be read in isolation from each other.

Benefit/cost analysis hopefully completed for inclusion in Network Rail September 2014 RUS(2019-24).

B/C analysis of what proposal? Extending into Wetherby or remaining east of the A1(M)?

What did your statement about Harrogate in #3 mean if it didn't mean there is a proposed route through Wetherby that is clear of property?

If it did mean that there is such a route, where is it?

 

[HowardGWR]

I had no idea this was a separate proposal from your earlier remarks which included Harrogate, or that your posts were meant to be read in isolation from each other.


B/C analysis of what proposal? Extending into Wetherby or remaining east of the A1(M)?

What did your statement about Harrogate in #3 mean if it didn't mean there is a proposed route through Wetherby that is clear of property?

If it did mean that there is such a route, where is it?

It's no good Deltic08, go to jail, go directly to jail..........

 

[deltic08]

It's no good Deltic08, go to jail, go directly to jail..........

I have already slashed my own wrists.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I had no idea this was a separate proposal from your earlier remarks which included Harrogate, or that your posts were meant to be read in isolation from each other.


B/C analysis of what proposal? Extending into Wetherby or remaining east of the A1(M)?

What did your statement about Harrogate in #3 mean if it didn't mean there is a proposed route through Wetherby that is clear of property?

If it did mean that there is such a route, where is it?

If you read #3 again carefully it tells you exactly the extent of the proposal but as yet I cannot tell you the exact route until extensive work is done by consultants much later in the GRIP stages. We are only in GRIP stage 2, Demand Forecasting and BCA at present, out of 8 stages.

Doncaster-York-Northallerton will not have the capacity to cope soon with forecast 18% passenger growth and 30% Intermodal growth over the next ten years especially after introduction of 5-car bi mode IEPs splitting and joining at York for Scarborough, Harrogate, Middlesbrough and Bishop Auckland. Capacity crunch on Leeds-Micklefield route could be soon after electrification in 2018 due to sparks effect.

Reinstating the route from Cross Gates to Northallerton via Harrogate allows diversion of certain traffic away from the bottlenecks of Skelton and Skelton Bridge Junctions north of York. Both Manchester-Newcastle trains would run this way each hour and selected container trains from Teesside to East Anglia between Northallerton, Harrogate, Wetherby, Church Fenton, Pontefract and Doncaster.