Penistone railway station

Penistone railway station is a railway station which serves the town of Penistone, in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Train services are provided by Northern Trains. The current station (at the junction of the Woodhead Line and Penistone Line) opened in 1874, replacing a station solely on the Woodhead Line dating from the line's opening by the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1845.

Penistone
LocationPenistone, Barnsley
England
Coordinates53.526°N 1.623°W / 53.526; -1.623
Grid referenceSE250033
Managed byNorthern Trains
Transit authoritySouth Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
Platforms2
Other information
Station codePNS
Fare zoneBarnsley
ClassificationDfT category F1
History
Original companySheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Central Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1845opened
1874moved to current location
1970Woodhead line platforms closed
Passengers
2015/16 0.163 million
2016/17 0.156 million
2017/18 0.165 million
2018/19 0.160 million
2019/20 0.169 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The railway station currently only serves the Penistone Line. The line connects Huddersfield with Sheffield, via Barnsley, with an hourly train in each direction. There is a voluntary organisation which supports and promotes community involvement along the line called the Penistone Line Partnership.[1]

Penistone station is the site of the one of the two remaining passing loops on the Barnsley to Huddersfield line, allowing trains coming from Sheffield and Huddersfield to pass each other. However, the sections either side of it are each single track – that northwards to Clayton West junction and Shepley having been singled in 1969, whilst that to Barnsley has been so since reopening in 1983. The loop was formerly controlled from the distinctive elevated ex-GCR Huddersfield Junction signal box south of the station until 1998, when control was transferred to the new Barnsley PSB and the box closed (it has since been demolished). Immediately north of the station, the line crosses the Don valley on an imposing 98 ft (30 m) high stone viaduct of 29 arches (one of four such structures on the route).[2]

History

Woodhead Line
An electric train at the now closed Woodhead Line platforms in 1954
Penistone station in the 1970s

Until 5 January 1970, Penistone station also served passenger trains on the electrified Woodhead Line from Sheffield Victoria to Manchester Piccadilly. Electric trains started in 1954, previously the service was steam operated.

The line was entirely closed west of Penistone towards Hadfield on 17 July 1981 making Penistone station no longer a junction, but the location of the former Woodhead Line platforms is still visible. The electricity supply to the Woodhead Line was controlled from a large building adjacent to Penistone station, which is still standing (though now converted for industrial use).

Trains from Huddersfield continued to use the old main line down the Don Valley to Sheffield until May 1983, when they were diverted via Barnsley over the former SYR route. This had been disused for some years but was refurbished to passenger standards in less than three months once South Yorkshire PTE agreed to continue funding the Penistone end of the route.[3]

Doncaster Line
Pre Grouping railway junctions around Penistone in 1912

Prior to 1959 Penistone was also the terminus of local trains from Doncaster via Barnsley and the Dearne Valley. These trains were timed to connect with Sheffield-Manchester trains at Penistone. This route was opened in 1854.

Accidents at Penistone

There were several railway accidents in or near Penistone in the late 19th century / early 20th century.

Facilities

The station is unstaffed but has a ticket machine on the Huddersfield bound side. The main buildings (in the vee between the old Woodhead track bed and the Huddersfield line) still stand, but these are in private commercial use. Waiting rooms are provided on each platform, along with digital display screens, automated announcements and timetable poster boards to offer train running information. Level access is possible to both platforms (via a ramp from the car park), but the National Rail page for the station states that neither platform is accessible for wheelchair users due to the barrow crossing at the south end of the station (which links the platforms) having gaps in its surface.[4]

Services

On Monday to Saturday, trains operate every hour in each direction towards Huddersfield and Sheffield via Barnsley. On Sundays, these run every two hours each way.[5]

In 2009,[6] Alliance Rail proposed to run a 4 trains-per-day service between Huddersfield and London Kings Cross, via Worksop, Sheffield and Penistone, giving Penistone a direct train to London 4 times a day.[7]

Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern Trains
Penistone Line
Disused railways
Denby Dale   L&Y
Penistone Line		   Terminus
Hazlehead Bridge   GCR
Woodhead Line		   Silkstone Common
  GCR
Great Central Main Line		   Wortley

Notes
  1. "Penistone Line Partnership: more info". www.southpenninesrail.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  2. Penistone Railway Viaduct Fielding, John Geograph.org; Retrieved 17 January 2017
  3. Body, G. (1988), PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 1-85260-072-1, p. 32
  4. Penistone station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 17 January 2017
  5. Table 34 National Rail timetable, May 2017
  6. "Rail veteran bids to revive GNER services". The Independent. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  7. Great North Eastern Railway - Proposed Services Archived 12 December 2013 at the Wayback MachineAlliance Rail Holdings; Retrieved 2013-12-09

References
  • Body, G. (1988), PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Wellingborough, ISBN 1-85260-072-1
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