Place Pontefract Station code POT DfT category F2 Number of platforms 2 Pte West Yorkshire Metro | Grid reference SE450221 Managed by Northern 2011/12 48,718 | |
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Address Pontefract WF8 4RG, United Kingdom Similar Pontefract Monkhill railway st, Pontefract Baghill railway st, Streethouse railway station, Knottingley railway station, Glasshoughton railway station | ||
Pontefract Tanshelf railway station is the most central station in the town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England, and serves Pontefract Races, the racecourse located just down the street from the station. It lies on the Pontefract Line operated by Northern and is 8 miles (13 km) east of Wakefield Kirkgate. In the days of coal mining in the Pontefract area, the station served the needs of the local workforce with regular and frequent services timed for the beginning and the end of mining shifts.
The present station was opened by West Yorkshire Metro on 12 May 1992, when the line between Wakefield and Pontefract was reopened.
The other stations in the town are Pontefract Monkhill and Pontefract Baghill.
Services
On Monday to Saturday, there is an hourly service to Wakefield Kirkgate and also hourly to Knottingley, but there are no trains to Tanshelf station on Sunday, despite the fact Pontefract Races have regular Sunday meetings throughout the spring and summer.
The original service used to run from Wakefield Westgate, but instead now starts from and terminates at Wakefield Kirkgate Station. Train services to Knottingley via Pontefract are timed to arrive and leave Kirkgate Station for connecting trains to Huddersfield, Halifax, Bradford, and Leeds, for the benefit of shoppers, tourists, and racegoers. New Northern franchise operator Arriva Rail North plans to extend the service through to Westgate and on to Leeds once the new franchise agreement comes into effect in April 2016. A new two-hourly Sunday service will also be introduced.