Wikipedia

Bradford Forster Square railway station

Bradford Forster Square railway station serves Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The majority of services to and from the station use Class 333 and Class 331 electric multiple units operated by Northern Trains; they run on the Airedale line to Skipton, the Wharfedale line to Ilkley and the Leeds-Bradford line to Leeds.

Bradford Forster Square
National Rail
View of the station entrance
General information
LocationBradford, City of Bradford
England
Coordinates53°47′49″N 1°45′10″W / 53.7970°N 1.7529°W / 53.7970; -1.7529
Grid referenceSE163334
Managed byNorthern Trains
Transit authorityWest Yorkshire (Metro; 19??-2014)
Platforms3 (4 projected)
Other information
Station codeBDQ
Fare zone3
ClassificationDfT category C2
History
Original companyLeeds and Bradford Railway
Key dates
1846Opened
1853Rebuilt
1890Rebuilt
1993Rebuilt on new site
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 1.995 million
 Interchange Increase 44,327
2019/20Decrease 1.947 million
 Interchange Increase 48,221
2020/21Decrease 0.615 million
 Interchange Decrease 10,382
2021/22Increase 1.301 million
 Interchange Increase 27,144
2022/23Increase 1.438 million
 Interchange Increase 27,880
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The other main railway station in the city is Bradford Interchange, which is about 10 minutes on foot from Forster Square; from here, services operate along the Calder Valley line to Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield, Manchester Victoria, Blackpool North and London King's Cross.

History

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Bradford Midland Station after 1887–90 rebuilding. Interior of the trainshed.
 
The remains of the old Forster Square station. Its replacement is behind the photographer.
 
View southward, towards buffer-stops in 1961
 
The original station being demolished and the new station under construction in 1992.

The first rail service into Bradford was opened by the Leeds and Bradford Railway on 1 July 1846. The line approached the town from the north, up Bradford Dale from Shipley, and terminated at a railway station on Kirkgate, opposite the end of Market Street. There were hourly services to Leeds Wellington Station, and through trains to London Euston via Derby and Rugby.[1]

The first railway station building was an imposing neoclassical building designed by William Andrews.[2] By 1853, the Midland Railway had acquired the Leeds and Bradford, and rebuilt the station. The new building was larger, but less interesting architecturally.[2]

In 1890, the railway station was again replaced. The Midland Railway's architect Charles Trubshaw designed a large complex containing the passenger station, goods station and the Midland Hotel. The station had six platforms and an overall glazed roof of the ridge and furrow pattern. The station was also used by the North Eastern Railway. The station began to be called Market Street Station at this time,[1] but local maps and directories do not confirm this (see Station name below).[3]

 
Bradford Forster Square station before 1909

By 1906,[4] Forster Square had been built just south-east of the railway station, but the name Forster Square Station was not used until 1924.

In 1953-54 the station underwent £60,000 (equivalent to £2,116,100 in 2023)[5] of improvements. The glass and steel canopy covering the station was removed and "umbrella type" covers were installed over each platform, leaving the rails clear.[6]

In March 1963, the Beeching Report recommended the closure of all railways serving Wharfedale, and the removal of several services out of Forster Square. As a consequence, many railway stations closed in 1965, and local services to Leeds ceased. However, the decision to close was deferred for some of the lines. In 1972, Bradford Corporation (now City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council), together with several other local authorities in the area, determined to subsidise the Wharfedale and Airedale lines. The lines have remained open, and in the ensuing years, a number of stations have been reopened. From April 1974, the new West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (now known as Metro) took responsibility for those services.

Forster Square Station was truncated in 1993, when a new station was built slightly to the north with the old station demolished at the same time. The new station has three platforms, two of which (platforms 1 & 2) are able to accommodate intercity trains. The old station site was to have become a shopping mall (which had a working title of 'Broadgate'). The idea was to have passengers walk past the shops to access the platforms. That development, however, never happened due to the early 1990s recession. A new shopping centre (The Broadway) was finally built to the south of Kirkgate in 2015. The old station site was initially used as a car park, before a HMRC tax office Centenary Court was built.[7] Part of the screen arcade that fronted the 1890 station, as well as the Midland Hotel, remains. In 2005, these became much more visible, when the city centre redevelopment began and Forster House was demolished.

The line into Forster Square was electrified in 1994, as part of the electrification of the Airedale and Wharfedale lines, which allowed through electric trains to London via the newly electrified East Coast Main Line. More recently, the pedestrian approach from Cheapside has been redeveloped, and ticket barriers installed. As of late 2024, a new platform (platform '0') is being constructed to the east of the station. This is due to open in May 2025.[8]

Historically, there have been various proposals put forward which would link the two Bradford railway stations together, but none of these has yet materialised.

Over time, services have operated as follows:


Dates Company or line Preceding station Following station
1846–1851 Leeds and Bradford terminus Manningham
1851–1923 Midland terminus Manningham
1923–1948 LMS terminus Manningham
1948–1965 British Railways/British Rail terminus Manningham
1965–1987 West Yorkshire Metro

(trains operated by British Rail)

terminus Shipley
1987–1997 West Yorkshire Metro

(trains operated by British Rail)

terminus Frizinghall
1997–2001 West Yorkshire Metro

(trains operated by Northern Spirit)

terminus Frizinghall
2001–2004 West Yorkshire Metro

(trains operated by Arriva Trains Northern)

terminus Frizinghall
2004–2014 West Yorkshire Metro

(trains operated by Northern Rail)

terminus Frizinghall
2014–2016 Northern Rail terminus Frizinghall
2016–2020 Arriva Rail North terminus Frizinghall
2020–Present Northern Trains terminus Frizinghall

Station name

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A Class 333 unit on platform 1
 
A Class 144 in the old station platforms, now demolished

There is some disagreement about what names were used and when. Most modern references state that at least one of them was called 'Market Street', but there is disagreement as to exactly when this name was in use:

  • According to Alan Whitaker,[1] it was 'Market Street' from the rebuilding in 1890 until 1924.
  • Tony Dewick,[9] p. 42, shows one of the three stations as 'Market Street' in red, which in that book indicates that the station and the name passed out of use before 1901.

W. E. Forster died in 1886,[10][11] and when the nearby Central Post Office opened in 1887, Forster Square, between the Railway Station and the Post Office, had recently been named.[12]

Throughout the 19th century, contemporary directories and maps either used the railway company name or a nearby street to identify the station. In 1852 it was the "Leeds and Bradford Railway Station".[13] In 1863 the location was "Midland Railway, Bottom of Kirkgate".[14]

The date of the name change has not yet been identified. In 1901, it was "The Leeds and Bradford railway ... is leased by the Midland Railway Company, and its station (called the "Midland" station) is at the bottom of Kirkgate."[15] Again in 1908[16] and 1921[17] it was still the "Midland Station". By 1934 the station name had changed to "Forster Square Station (L.M.S.R)".[18]

Stationmasters

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  • Thomas Fletcher c. 1859[19] – 1873 (afterwards secretary and manager of the Bradford Tramway Company)
  • Robert Smith 1873 – 1897[20]
  • W. P. Snow 1897 – 1899[21] (afterwards station master at London St Pancras)
  • Robert L. Tudor 1899 – 1908[22] (formerly station master at Hellifield)
  • James Robert Johnson 1908 – 1913
  • Frederick William Pugh 1913 – 1930[23] (formerly station master at Trent Junction)
  • William Hardy 1930 – 1936 (formerly station master at Lincoln)
  • Frederick James Stallard 1936[24] – 1940 (formerly station master at Low Moor)
  • David Mathieson 1940 – 1948[25] (formerly station master at Bedford)
  • R. M. Bradshaw from 1948

Services

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Leeds–Bradford lines and other routes

Trains from Bradford Forster Square are operated by Northern Trains and London North Eastern Railway. Most trains are run by Northern; these are towards Leeds, Skipton and Ilkley. During Monday to Saturday daytimes, trains operate every 30 minutes to Leeds and hourly on the other two routes. On weekday and Saturday evenings there are trains every hour to each of Skipton and Ilkley, but no trains run through to Leeds; instead a shuttle service runs between Bradford and Shipley, connecting there with Skipton – Leeds trains. Connections are also available at Shipley for longer distance trains to Morecambe and Carlisle; a single early direct service to Carnforth at 06:41 runs from here since the May 2022 timetable change, but there's no balancing return service.

On Sundays, trains run hourly between Bradford and Leeds all day (until the end of service) and to both Skipton and Ilkley.[26] The latter two routes were upgraded from two-hourly frequencies at the December 2017 timetable change.

During off-peak hours most trains use platforms 1 (for Skipton) and 2 (Leeds and Ilkley) – platform 3 is mainly used during weekday peak periods and in the evening, though a spare set is usually stabled here between 09.00 and 16.00 each weekday.

London North Eastern Railway operates two services each way (only one on Sundays) per day via Leeds and the East Coast Main Line to London King's Cross.[27] In January 2024, £24 million was allocated for a fourth platform at the station to allow more flexibility. LNER will subsequently be able to provide up to five services a day for Bradford's 2025 City of Culture events.[28][29]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Whitaker, Alan; Myland, Brian (1993). Railway Memories No. 4: Bradford. Bellcode Books. ISBN 1-871233-03-8.
  2. ^ a b Sheeran, George (1994). Railway Buildings of West Yorkshire, 1812–1920. Keele, Staffs: Ryburn Publishing. ISBN 1-85331-100-6.
  3. ^ Dixon; Hindle (1987) [1871]. Willmott, Elvira (ed.). The Ryburn Map of Victorian Bradford [Plan of the Town of Bradford]. Keele, Staffs: Ryburn Publishing. ISBN 1-85331-004-2.
  4. ^ Bradford. Ordnance Survey 1906. Alan Godfrey Maps. 1989. Sheet 216.08. ISBN 0-85054-281-2.
  5. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  6. ^ "£60,000 station improvements". Bradford Observer. England. 9 September 1953. Retrieved 7 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "HMRC Building, Bradford". EEH VENTURES. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  8. ^ Young, C., New rail platform at Bradford Forster Square to be completed by May [2025], Telegraph and Argus, published on 9 October 2024, accessed on 24 October 2024
  9. ^ Dewick, Tony (2002). Complete Atlas of Railway Station Names. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2798-6.
  10. ^ Statue in Victoria Embankment Gardens, London
  11. ^ Tablet in Westminster Abbey
  12. ^ "Central Post Office (St. Peters House), Forster Square, Bradford". Leeds Mercury. 3 September 1887. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  13. ^ Bradford Sheet 5 Series: Ordnance Survey, Large Scale Town Plans (1:1056), Surveyed 1848, Published 1852. National Library of Scotland
  14. ^ Jones's Mercantile Directory, 1863 P26. Pub. Jones & Proud, Bradford Family History Society
  15. ^ Kelly's Directory of Bradford and Suburbs, 1901 P1, Bradford Family History Society
  16. ^ Ordnance Survey, 25 inch to the mile. Revised: 1905 to 1906. Published: 1908. National Library of Scotland
  17. ^ Ordnance Survey, 25 inch to the mile Revised: 1915 Published: 1921. National Library of Scotland
  18. ^ Ordnance Survey, 25 inch to the mile Revised: 1932 to 1934 Published: 1934. National Library of Scotland
  19. ^ "1859–1866". Midland Railway Miscellaneous Depts: 298. 1914. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Death of the Bradford Midland Stationmaster". Bradford Daily Telegraph. England. 11 August 1897. Retrieved 10 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. ^ "Promotion for the Bradford Midland Station Master". Bradford Weekly Telegraph. England. 30 September 1899. Retrieved 10 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  22. ^ "Bradford Midland Station Master". Yorkshire Evening Post. England. 14 April 1908. Retrieved 10 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  23. ^ "Northern Items". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. England. 9 September 1930. Retrieved 10 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  24. ^ "New Stationmaster". Yorkshire Evening Post. England. 11 July 1936. Retrieved 10 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  25. ^ "Mr. David Mathieson". 8 December 1948. England. 11 July 1936. Retrieved 10 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  26. ^ Table 36, 37 & 38 National Rail timetable, May 2022
  27. ^ Table 26 National Rail timetable, December 2022
  28. ^ Hyde, Nathan (31 January 2024). "£24m boost for rail link to capital". The Yorkshire Post. p. 1. ISSN 0963-1496.
  29. ^ "£24 million boost to deliver improved rail journeys in Bradford". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 October 2024.

Further reading

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  • Firth, Gary (1997). A History of Bradford. Phillimore. ISBN 1-86077-057-6.
  • Smith, F. W.; Bairstow, Martin (1992). The Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway. Martin Bairstow. ISBN 1-871944-06-6.
  • "Electrification chances to Bradford improve". RAIL. No. 100. EMAP National Publications. 13–26 July 1989. p. 8. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bradford Forster Square railway station.
Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Shipley   London North Eastern Railway
East Coast Main Line
(Limited service) 		  Terminus
Frizinghall   Northern Trains
Airedale Line 		  Terminus
Frizinghall   Northern Trains
Wharfedale Line 		  Terminus
Frizinghall   Northern Trains
Leeds-Bradford Lines 		  Terminus
  Historical railways  
Manningham   Midland Railway
Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway 		  Terminus
Manningham   Midland Railway
Leeds and Bradford Railway 		  Terminus
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