The Wakefield line is a railway line and service in the West Yorkshire Metro and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive areas of northern England. The Wakefield line is coloured yellow on maps and publications by West Yorkshire Metro.[1] The line was electrified in 1989, between Leeds & Wakefield Westgate, as part of the programme to electrify the East Coast Main Line.[2][3]
West Yorkshire "Metrocards" are available for all trains as far as South Elmsall on the Doncaster section of the line and to Moorthorpe on the Sheffield section.[5]
Pre-nationalisation ownership
At the time of the 1923 Grouping the line was owned by different railway companies:
At Outwood there were junctions with two joint undertakings; East & West Yorkshire Union (a short line connecting the Great Northern / Midland Railway main lines via Rothwell and Methley Joint Railway (owners being Great Northern, Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and North Eastern Railway) connecting to various lines in the Castleford area.
Wrenthorpe Junction
From this junction was a line to Dewsbury which was partially closed in 1963 and complete closure came in 1965 – some artefacts still remain to this day.
From Swinton towards Sheffield, the Midland Railway and Great Central had parallel lines following the course of the River Don. The lines of the competing companies were so close that in 1965 British Railways built a new junction complex at Aldwarke and the current Wakefield Line now follows the former Great Central line to reach the reopened Rotherham Central. Intermediate stations were to be found at:
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