Pontefract Tanshelf railway station

Notes
	Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Pontefract Tanshelf
Pontefract Tanshelf
	The view from platform 1, Class 156 DMU no. 156479 in old Arriva Trains Northern livery in August 2006
General information
Location	Pontefract, City of Wakefield; England
Coordinates	53°41′38″N 1°19′08″W / 53.694°N 1.319°W
Grid reference	SE450221
Managed by	Northern
Transit authority	West Yorkshire Metro
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	POT
Fare zone	3
Classification	DfT category F2
Key dates
17 July 1871	Station opened as Tanshelf
1 December 1936	Station renamed Pontefract Tanshelf
2 January 1967	Station closed
11 May 1992	Station reopened
Passengers
2018/19	38,830
2019/20	53,538
2020/21	8,388
2021/22	30,440
2022/23	85,368
Notes
Notes
	Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Pontefract Tanshelf railway station is the most central station in the market town of Pontefract in 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.^[1] 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 station is the closest to the former Prince of Wales Colliery which closed in August 2002.^[2] The station serves Beechnut Lane, the home ground of Pontefract Collieries F.C.

The first station on the site was opened on 17 July 1871 as Tanshelf, being renamed Pontefract Tanshelf on 1 December 1936.^[3] It was closed on 2 January 1967,^[4] when the passenger services were diverted away from the direct line to Wakefield Kirkgate (via Featherstone, to serve Leeds via Castleford.^[5] The present station was opened by West Yorkshire Metro on 11 May 1992, when the line between Wakefield Kirkgate and Pontefract Monkhill was reopened.

The other stations in the town are Pontefract Monkhill and Pontefract Baghill.^[6]

Unlike Pontefract Monkhill, both platforms of Tanshelf are wheelchair-accessible.

Services

On Monday to Saturday, there is an hourly service to Wakefield Kirkgate and Leeds and also hourly to Knottingley. On Sundays, there is a two-hourly service each way to the same destinations.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Featherstone		Northern Trains Pontefract Line		Pontefract Monkhill

References

^ Padgett, David (2016). Railway track diagrams, book 2; Eastern (4 ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-8-1.
^ Wainwright, Martin (31 August 2002). "Britain's oldest mine closes". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
^ Quick, Michael (2019). "Railway Passenger Stations in England, Scotland and Wales; a Chronology" (PDF). rchs.org.uk. p. 326. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
^ Haigh, AJ (2012). Railways in West Yorkshire : Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield & the West Riding : an illustrated general history of the railways in the West Riding from the grouping to the present time (2 ed.). Xpress Publishing. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-901056-44-0.
^ Body, Geoffrey (1989). Railways of the Eastern Region. Wellingborough: P. Stephens. p. 143. ISBN 1-85260-072-1.
^ "Pontefract Turf Account". The Northern Echo. 13 March 2002. p. 3. ISSN 2043-0442.

External links

Media related to Pontefract Tanshelf railway station at Wikimedia Commons

Train times and station information for Pontefract Tanshelf railway station from National Rail

This article on a railway station in Yorkshire and the Humber is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Padgett, David (2016). Railway track diagrams, book 2; Eastern (4 ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-8-1.

[2] Wainwright, Martin (31 August 2002). "Britain's oldest mine closes". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2020.

[3] Quick, Michael (2019). "Railway Passenger Stations in England, Scotland and Wales; a Chronology" (PDF). rchs.org.uk. p. 326. Retrieved 13 July 2020.

[4] Haigh, AJ (2012). Railways in West Yorkshire : Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield & the West Riding : an illustrated general history of the railways in the West Riding from the grouping to the present time (2 ed.). Xpress Publishing. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-901056-44-0.

[5] Body, Geoffrey (1989). Railways of the Eastern Region. Wellingborough: P. Stephens. p. 143. ISBN 1-85260-072-1.

[6] "Pontefract Turf Account". The Northern Echo. 13 March 2002. p. 3. ISSN 2043-0442.

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v t e Railway stations in West Yorkshire
Lists	List of busiest railway stations in West Yorkshire
MetroTrain lines	■ Airedale ■ Calder Valley ■ Dearne Valley ■ Hallam ■ Harrogate ■ Huddersfield ■ Leeds–Bradford ■ Penistone ■ Pontefract ■ Wakefield ■ Wharfedale
City of Bradford	Apperley Bridge Baildon Ben Rhydding Bingley Bradford Forster Square Bradford Interchange Burley-in-Wharfedale Crossflatts Frizinghall Ilkley Low Moor Keighley Menston Saltaire Shipley Steeton and Silsden
Calderdale	Brighouse Halifax Hebden Bridge Mytholmroyd Sowerby Bridge Todmorden Walsden
Kirklees	Batley Berry Brow Brockholes Deighton Denby Dale Dewsbury Honley Huddersfield Lockwood Marsden Mirfield Ravensthorpe Shepley Slaithwaite Stocksmoor
City of Leeds	Bramley Burley Park Cottingley Cross Gates East Garforth Garforth Guiseley Headingley Horsforth Kirkstall Forge Leeds Micklefield Morley New Pudsey Woodlesford
City of Wakefield	Castleford Featherstone Fitzwilliam Glasshoughton Knottingley Moorthorpe Normanton Outwood Pontefract Baghill Pontefract Monkhill Pontefract Tanshelf Sandal and Agbrigg South Elmsall Streethouse Wakefield Kirkgate Wakefield Westgate
Outside West Yorkshire, but within the West Yorkshire Metro area	Cononley Darton Harrogate Hornbeam Park Pannal Skipton Weeton