Steeton and Silsden railway station

Steeton and Silsden
Location
Place	Steeton
Local authority	City of Bradford
Coordinates	53°54′00″N 1°56′40″W / 53.899980°N 1.944380°WCoordinates: 53°54′00″N 1°56′40″W / 53.899980°N 1.944380°W
Grid reference	SE037448
Operations
Station code	SON
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	0.744 million
2011/12	0.751 million
2012/13	0.788 million
2013/14	0.797 million
2014/15	0.862 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	West Yorkshire (Metro)
Zone	5
History
Original company	Leeds and Bradford Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
December 1847	First station opened as Steeton
1 September 1868	Renamed Steeton and Silsden
1 March 1892	Station re-sited
22 March 1965	Station closed
14 May 1990	Reopened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Steeton and Silsden from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Steeton and Silsden railway station serves the village of Steeton and the town of Silsden in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated closer to Steeton than to Silsden, and is on the Airedale Line. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Northern. Steeton & Silsden closed on 20 March 1965 (a victim of the Beeching Axe) but reopened in 1990.^[1] The current (staggered) station platforms built by British Rail are located on the site of the old A6068 level crossing, which was replaced by the current road bridge in 1988 as part of the Aire Valley Trunk Road project.^[2] Until closure both platforms were situated to the north of the former crossing, although the original station building (which survives as a private residence) was located on the Keighley side (south of the current northbound platform).

Because the station is the first station within the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive subsidised ticketing region on the line into Leeds and Bradford from Skipton, there are perceived to be problems with car parking at the station.^[2] It is hoped that an extension to the Metro area, to include Skipton, will alleviate this;^[3] this took effect from 17 May 2009.^[4][5] Until recently, the station lacked full access for disabled users, leading some to catch trains in the opposite direction to change platforms.^[6] Access is now possible, albeit via a fairly steep ramp to the Leeds & Bradford-bound platform.^[7] Though unstaffed, there are ticket machines available at the station for passengers to use. Train running details are provided by digital information screens and a long-line P.A system.

Services

During Monday to Saturday daytime, there is a half-hourly service to both Leeds and Bradford Forster Square in one direction and four trains an hour towards Skipton. Evenings there is a half-hourly service to Leeds, an hourly service to Bradford Forster Square and three trains per hour to Skipton.

On Sundays there is an hourly service to Leeds and a two-hourly service to Bradford Forster Square, with one or two trains per hour to Skipton.^[8]

These services are mostly operated by Northern Class 333 electric multiple units, although Class 321 and Class 322 sets are used on some weekday workings.

Most regional services to destinations beyond Skipton (i.e. Morecambe and Carlisle) do not stop here (connections are available at Skipton), but a limited number do so either in a morning or during the p.m peak. Two services to and one service from Carlisle call on weekdays, along with one from Ribblehead in the late evening, whilst there is one call each way on a Saturday (though the southbound train starts at Ribblehead) and one northbound only on Sundays. Services to Lancaster & Morecambe only call at weekends (one on Saturday and one Sunday, both northbound only).

These are provided by a variety of Diesel Multiple Units (of classes Class 142, Class 144, Class 150, Class 153 and Class 158).

References

1. Bairstow, Martin (2004). Railways Through Airedale & Wharfedale. ISBN 1-871944-28-7.
2. Moore, Lindsey (21 May 2015). "Steeton and Silsden Railway Station reopened 25 years ago". Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
3. "Cheap rail fare plan for Skipton". Craven Herald & Pioneer. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
4. "Metrocard extension to Skipton gets a welcome". Craven Herald and Pioneer. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
5. "Metrocard Zones 6 & 7". WYMetro. WYPTE. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
6. "A bridge that's too far for disabled travellers". Keighley News. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
7. Steeton & Silsden station facilities National Rail Enquiries
8. Table 36 National Rail timetable, May 2016

External links

• Train times and station information for Steeton and Silsden railway station from National Rail