Airedale Line
| Airedale Line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Commuter rail |
| Status | Open |
| Locale |
West Yorkshire Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Termini |
Leeds Bradford Forster Square Skipton (some services continue to Carlisle or Lancaster) |
| Stations | 11 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1846 |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator(s) | Northern Rail |
| Rolling stock | British Rail Class 333 (majority of services) |
| Technical | |
| Number of tracks | 2 |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Electrification | Overhead catenary |
The Airedale Line is the name given to one of the rail services in the Metro area centred on West Yorkshire in northern England. The service is operated by Northern Rail, on the route connecting Leeds and Bradford with Skipton. Some services along the line continue to Morecambe or Carlisle. The route covered by the service was historically part of the Midland Railway.
According to SELRAP, the Airedale Line is the most heavily utilised passenger route outside the South East of England.[1]
The route and its history
The first section, between Leeds and Bradford (Forster Square station), was opened by the Leeds and Bradford Railway on 1 July 1846. A number of the intermediate stations were closed in March 1965 (as a result of the Beeching Axe), however the line and its major stations remained open. Some of the closed stations, such as Saltaire, were re-opened during the 1980s.
In 1994 under British Rail, the line was electrified at 25 kV AC Overhead between Leeds and Skipton,[2] and new British Rail Class 333 trains were introduced in the early 2000s. Investment in the line has seen passenger numbers grow,[2] and now overcrowding on trains is a problem.[3] New stock and longer trains are to be introduced by the new Northern Rail franchisee Arriva Rail North by December 2018 to tackle this issue.[4][5]
The route is described below. The line originally included a number of stations which are now closed:
- Leeds – the station was named Leeds (Wellington) to differentiate it from the other main line stations in the city, belonging to the North Eastern Railway (NER)
- Holbeck
- Armley Canal Road
- Kirkstall
- Kirkstall Forge – closed but planned to be reopened in 2016
- Newlay and Horsforth
- Calverley and Rodley
- Location of Apperley Junction for the Wharfedale Line
- Apperley Bridge & Rawdon – closed in 1965; new Apperley Bridge station opened in 2015
- Location of Thackley Tunnel
- This is the location of the triangular junction for the branch line serving Shipley and Bradford Forster Square. The main line, which was opened from here to Skipton by the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway in 1847, continues:
- Saltaire
- Location of Bingley tunnel
- Bingley
- Crossflatts
- Keighley
- Location of the Worth Valley Branch junction to Oxenhope. The branch is now the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway heritage line.
- Steeton & Silsden
- Kildwick and Crosshills
- Cononley
- Skipton.
Trains of the Leeds to Morecambe Line and Settle-Carlisle Line also run along the Airedale Line from Leeds.
The line today
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The line is operated by the Northern Rail operating company. The fare structure is as follows (these show the Metro rail zones):
- Zone 1
- Zone 3
- Shipley to Crossflatts. Shipley is also served by the Leeds-Bradford Line and the Wharfedale Line
- Zone 4
- Keighley
- Zone 5
- Steeton & Silsden
- Zone 7 (from 17 May 2009)[6]
- Cononley to Skipton
The future
Recent Network Rail reports have looked at ways of increasing capacity on the line. Because of the difficulty of lengthening platforms at Shipley, it will be hard to introduce longer trains (i.e. 5 or 6 carriages) as is being proposed on the neighbouring Wharfedale Line. It is therefore proposed to run more trains per hour between Leeds and Keighley, with a new platform at Keighley to accommodate this.[7] A new station at Apperley Bridge opened in December 2015 and Kirkstall Forge is due to open in 2016.
Virgin Trains East Coast currently operate a small number of daily services on the line, between Skipton/Bradford and London King's Cross. These are operated by InterCity 225's. East Coast, Virgin Trains East Coast's predecessor, wanted to run more frequent services from December 2009 but to do so the line would need more capacity.[8]
A recent report by Modern Railways claimed that a solid hourly service would operate on the line as far as Long Preston, but would serve Carlisle and Lancaster alternately. It may also become a freight artery to improve capacity on the West Coast Main Line. Network Rail's own latest plans involve new signalling and other improvements for the sections of the line beyond Skipton. Carlisle services will be increased to a basic two-hour pattern with extra services to 'fill in the gaps' at peak times during the day to give a 1 train/h frequency.[9] Lancaster services will also be made more frequent, however it has been suggested they will be terminated at Skipton in future, rather than continuing through to Leeds as at present.[9] All of these plans are still dependent on getting enough government funding.
References
- ↑ Shackleton, Andy. "At A Glance" (PDF). SELRAP - Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership. Selrap. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- 1 2 Kilner, Will (22 October 2008). "Major revisions planned for Airedale and Wharfedale rail lines". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
- ↑ Meneaud, Marc (8 February 2010). "Passenger watchdog and MP demand action on Aire Valley and Wharfedale routes". Telegraph & Argus. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
- ↑ Northern Franchise Improvements - DfT
- ↑ "CAF to deliver 281 rail vehicles for Northern rail franchise in UK"Rail Technology; Retrieved 27 January 2016
- ↑ http://www.wymetro.com/News/MetroZones6and7.htm
- ↑ "NR Strategic Business Plan for North and West Yorkshire" (PDF).
- ↑ "‘High-speed rail bid could be derailed’". Telegraph & Argus. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
- 1 2 "Lancashire and Cumbria RUS" (PDF).
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Airedale Line. |
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