Place Farsley Station code NPD DfT category E | Grid reference SE211343 Managed by Northern 2011/12 0.797 million Number of platforms 2 | |
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Address Pudsey LS28 6QG, United Kingdom Pte West Yorkshire Metro (Metro) Similar Bramley (West Yorkshire, Bradford Interchange, Bingley railway station, Shipley railway station, Saltaire railway station | ||
New Pudsey railway station is in Farsley, West Yorkshire, England, on the Calder Valley line from Leeds City to Bradford Interchange, Halifax, Huddersfield, Manchester Victoria, and Blackpool North. Lying 5.75 miles (9.25 km) west of Leeds, it serves as a commuter station for the western edge of the Leeds conurbation.
Contents
This station opened by British Rail on 6 March 1967 and is located in Farsley about 1 mile (1.6 km) north-west of Pudsey town centre. It was opened as a 'new' station for Pudsey; there is no place called New Pudsey. The platforms are long enough to accommodate Intercity trains, and there is a large car park. It was originally served by occasional through trains from Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross. However, after electrification of the East Coast Main Line, through services were routed via Shipley to Bradford Forster Square.
The station is situated just under a mile west of the location of what was Stanningley (formerly Stanningley for Farsley), which closed on 30 December 1967, having supposedly been replaced by New Pudsey, although the two catchment areas were largely different.
The station is staffed, and the ticket office is open from 05:55 to 19:00 on Mondays to Saturdays. A ticket machine is also available. Step-free access from the booking office to both platforms is provided, via ramps to the footbridge that links them. Train running information is available via passenger information screens and P.A announcements.
History
Pudsey was originally served by a short branch line running from Stanningley railway station to Pudsey Greenside opened in 1878 by the Great Northern Railway. In 1893 the line was extended through Greenside Tunnel to Laisterdyke, the original curve from Stanningley closed, and another (90°) curve to Bramley opened forming the Pudsey Loop. There were two stations on the loop, Pudsey Lowtown and Pudsey Greenside, conveniently located at either end of the town centre. Both closed on 15 June 1964 as a result of the Beeching Axe.
Eastbound
During Monday to Saturday daytimes, there are four trains an hour to Leeds; in the evenings this service runs twice hourly. One train each hour continue beyond Leeds to York and there are also a few peak hour services to Selby. On Sundays there is a twice hourly service with one train each hour continuing to York.
Westbound
During Monday to Saturday daytimes there are four trains an hour to Bradford Interchange and Halifax. Two trains each hour continue to Manchester Victoria (one limited stop, the other serving all stations to Todmorden, then Rochdale only), one runs to Blackpool North via Blackburn and one to Huddersfield via Halifax and Brighouse. The service is twice hourly in the evenings and on Sundays, with one train per hour running to Manchester Victoria and one to either Blackpool North or Huddersfield.
Transport links
The next bus stops are on Stanningley Bypass (express services between Bradford and Leeds and local services between Pudsey Owlcotes Centre and Leeds), in Bradford Road (services to Leeds, Bradford, and Halifax). A stop of the frequent service between Pudsey and Seacroft is located at the corner of Bradford Road and Old Road, approximately 0.4 miles (0.64 km) from the station.
New Pudsey Station on television
The station was featured in a 1969 Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch (Science Fiction Sketch/Man Turns Into Scotsman) in which Harold Potter (Michael Palin) is turned into a Scotsman by creatures from the planet Skyron in the galaxy of Andromeda. Graham Chapman and Eric Idle (with Idle in drag) briefly appear on Platform 1 early in the sketch as Mr and Mrs Samuel Brainsample. After the camera pans off Chapman and Idle, Palin is shown walking up the ramp from the platform toward town. At the beginning of the sketch reference is made to the alien visitors coming "to conquer and destroy the very heart of civilisation", with a fade-in to the sign reading "New Pudsey". Laughter follows. [1]