Cottingley railway station

Cottingley railway station serves the Cottingley and Churwell areas of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It lies 3 miles (5 km) south west of Leeds on the Huddersfield Line. It is the nearest railway station to Leeds United F.C.'s Elland Road stadium.

Cottingley
The view from the foot bridge
Location
Place	Cottingley
Local authority	City of Leeds
Coordinates	53.7679°N 1.5876°W / 53.7679; -1.5876
Grid reference	SE272302
Operations
Station code	COT
Managed by	Northern Trains
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	87,242
2015/16	88,810
2016/17	97,180
2017/18	96,596
2018/19	96,604
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	West Yorkshire Metro
Zone	2
History
Original company	British Rail
25 April 1988 (1988-04-25)	Station opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Cottingley from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

A proposed White Rose railway station 2,460 feet (750 m) south of Cottingley station is currently under consideration. It is undecided whether to retain Cottingley station or to close it, if and when, White Rose opens.[1]

History

The station was opened by British Rail on 25 April 1988[2] with financial assistance from West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and is currently managed by Northern Trains, however, most trains that call at Cottingley are now operated by TransPennine Express apart from a handful of peak hour services.

Patronage growth

Patronage at Cottingley station (off Cottingley Drive) has increased significantly in recent years, and this is reflected by the figures published by the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR). Recorded usage in 2002/03 was 9,467 journeys per year (average of entries and exits).

By 2005/06, this had increased to 73,894 journeys per year, an increase of 781% (almost eightfold) in four years. Actual growth may be higher, since the ORR data does not accurately take account of the multi-modal 'MetroCard' season tickets issued by WYPTE which are valid for journeys to and from this station. From 2008/9, such MetroCard data are included, but only an estimation is made.

Recent growth can also be attributed in part by a significant new housing development adjacent to the railway station, called Churwell New Village.

That, combined with growth elsewhere on the line, means that overcrowding in the morning peak for commuters heading towards Leeds is now a serious problem. Efforts to address this have been hampered by the relatively short platforms at the station, which limited the length of trains that can call here. The platforms have since been extended (towards Leeds) and can now accommodate three car trains easily. Network Rail further extended the platforms in November/December 2018.[3]

Facilities

Signage at the entrance to Cottingley railway station

The station is unmanned and has only basic shelters on each platform. Platform 1 is the ‘down’ platform for trains to Leeds and platform 2 is the ‘up’ platform for trains to Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Brighouse and Manchester.

There are ticket machines on both sides and these were recently been brought into use. Automatic announcements, timetable posters and dot matrix display screens provide train running information.

Step-free access is available to both platforms; however they are linked by a stepped footbridge.

Services

As of May 2020, Monday to Friday and Saturday there's an hourly service from Cottingley to Leeds and to Huddersfield calling at all intermediate stations. Three early morning services and one evening peak service (05:27 to Wigan Wallgate via Hebden Bridge, 06:58 and 07:57 to Leeds, and 17:23 to Wigan North Western) are operated by Northern with the rest being operated by TransPennine Express. The service pattern is generally XX:21 to Leeds and XX:52 to Huddersfield. The service on a Sunday is similar, but starts later. Most trains operate Manchester Piccadilly-Leeds calling at all stations from Stalybridge onwards.

References

1. Clark, Jess (5 July 2018). "Details of two new Leeds stations revealed". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 69. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
3. "North of England Platform Extension Programme" Network Rail press release, retrieved 18 November 2018

External links

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

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Morley		Northern Trains Calder Valley Line (Southport - Leeds)		Leeds
		TransPennine Express North TransPennine (Huddersfield - Leeds)