Harrogate railway station

Harrogate
The station in 2013
Location	Harrogate, Harrogate England
Coordinates	53°59′36″N 1°32′15″W / 53.9933°N 1.5374°W / 53.9933; -1.5374Coordinates: 53°59′36″N 1°32′15″W / 53.9933°N 1.5374°W / 53.9933; -1.5374
Grid reference	SE304553
Managed by	Northern Trains
Transit authority	West Yorkshire (Metro)
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	HGT
Fare zone	6
Classification	DfT category C1
History
Opened	1 August 1862
Original company	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Passengers
2015/16	1.558 million
2016/17	1.649 million
2017/18	1.698 million
2018/19	1.661 million
2019/20	1.771 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

hide v t Railways in Harrogate
Legend
to Northallerton via Ripon closed to passengers 1967 Harrogate Starbeck Hornbeam Park opened 1992 to York Crimple Viaduct Line to Church Fenton closed to passengers 1964 Pannal to Leeds

Harrogate railway station serves the town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Located on the Harrogate Line it is 18.25 miles (29 km) north of Leeds. Northern Trains operate the station and provide local passenger train services, with a London North Eastern Railway service to and from London King's Cross running 6 times per day.

History[]

The station was opened by the North Eastern Railway on 1 August 1862.^[1] It was designed by the architect Thomas Prosser and was the first building in Harrogate built of brick and had two platforms. Before it opened (and the associated approach lines), the town's rail routes had been somewhat fragmented – the York and North Midland Railway branch line from Church Fenton via Tadcaster had a terminus in the town (see below), but the Leeds Northern Railway main line between Leeds and Thirsk bypassed it to the east to avoid costly engineering work to cross the Crimple Valley and the East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway from York terminated at Starbeck. Once the individual companies had become part of the NER, the company concentrated all lines at a new single depot.

A storm in November 1866 caused a chimney stack to fall through the station roof causing considerable damage.^[2] In 1873, a footbridge was added.

The booking office was robbed on 7 December 1868 when thieves drilled through the ticket window covering with a bit and brace, and stole a small amount of cash.^[3]

The station platforms were lengthened by 100 yards in 1883,^[4] largely as a result of the opening of a second route to Leeds via Wetherby (the Cross Gates to Wetherby Line) in 1876.

In 1892, the actor, Harry Fischer, was shot at by Violet Gordon at the station.^[5] She missed and was arrested by the police.

The station was largely demolished in 1964/65 and replaced with a more utilitarian one (with fewer platforms) by Taylor Bown and Miller, Architects (Harrogate). A car park now occupies the site of the former bay platforms on the south side.^[6] It coincided with the loss of three of the main routes through the town in the Beeching Axe – both routes via Wetherby closed to passenger traffic on 6 January 1964 and the Leeds Northern route to Northallerton via Ripon on 6 March 1967.^[7]

The York branch was included in Beeching's 1963 report, but it was reprieved in 1966 and remains open. The original, attractive wrought iron footbridge remained until the mid 2000s when it was taken down and replaced by a modern plain steel one further down the platform. The station was serviced by a cafe called the 'Circle Bar' until its closure in the 1990s.

Station Masters[]

This list is incomplete; you can help by . (September 2017)

Facilities[]

A small building was added on the Leeds bound platform in the 2010s facilitating access from East Parade

The station has a staffed ticket office open seven days a week (except late evenings), along with ticket machines. Facilities include a newsagent, key cutters, ATMs, a cafe, photo booths and a waiting room, all located on the main concourse on Platform 1. The station has three platforms, but only platforms 1 and 3 are in operation – platform 2 (an east-facing bay) is not in public use. Full step-free access is available to both main platforms and they are linked by a footbridge with lifts.^[11] Ticket barriers were installed in early 2017.^[12]

Services[]

The Monday to Saturday daytime service is generally 3tph to Leeds (southbound); with two calling at all stations and one limited stop (Hornbeam Park and Horsforth only) and 2tph to Knaresborough (eastbound) on the Harrogate Line with an hourly service onwards to York also calling at all stations en route.^[13] 2tph operate to Leeds and Knaresborough on Sundays with one train per hour operating to/from York.

Services increase in frequency at peak time to Leeds, resulting in 4tph (trains per hour) with 1tph running fast to Horsforth. There are 4tph in the opposite direction between 16:29 and 18:00 from Leeds with one running fast from Horsforth to Harrogate.

Evenings an hourly service operates from Leeds through Harrogate towards Knaresborough and York (some early morning trains to Leeds start from here and terminate here from Leeds in the late evening).

London North Eastern Railway operates six daily services to and from London King's Cross on Mondays to Saturdays.^[14] These trains also provide a fourth hourly clockface service to Leeds every two hours.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Leeds		London North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line		Terminus
Horsforth Limited Service
Hornbeam Park		Northern Trains Harrogate Line		Starbeck

Harrogate (Brunswick) station[]

Plaque marking the site of Harrogate Brunswick Railway Station

Harrogate's first railway station, Brunswick, was the terminus of York and North Midland Railway's branch line and the first train arrived there on 20 July 1848. The station was situated on the site where Trinity Methodist Church now stands, close to the Prince of Wales roundabout and some distance from either High or Low Harrogate.^[15] When the new line of the North Eastern Railway entered Harrogate via a cutting through The Stray, Brunswick closed and the first train into the town centre station was on 1 August 1862.

Ripon Railway[]

Harrogate station's platforms and tracks, seen from the pedestrian overbridge.

The town was previously served by a railway, the Leeds-Northallerton Line that ran between Leeds and Northallerton via this station and Ripon.^[16] It was once part of the North Eastern Railway and then LNER. The site is now occupied by Starbeck railway station.^[17]

The Ripon Line was closed to passengers on 6 March 1967 and to freight on 5 September 1969 as part of the wider Beeching Axe, despite a vigorous campaign by local campaigners, including the city's MP.^[16] Today much of the route of the line through the city is now a relief road and although the former station still stands, it is now surrounded by a new housing development. The issue remains a significant one in local politics and there are movements wanting to restore the line.^[16] Reports suggest the reopening of a line between Ripon and Harrogate railway station would be economically viable, costing £40 million and could initially attract 1,200 passengers a day, rising to 2,700.^[16][18][19] Campaigners call on MPs to restore Ripon railway link.^[20]

A61 Station Parade, Harrogate

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harrogate railway station.

• Train times and station information for Harrogate railway station from National Rail