Morley railway station

Morley National Rail

Platform 1
Location
Place Morley
Local authority City of Leeds
Coordinates 53°45′00″N 1°35′28″W / 53.750°N 1.591°W / 53.750; -1.591Coordinates: 53°45′00″N 1°35′28″W / 53.750°N 1.591°W / 53.750; -1.591
Grid reference SE270282
Operations
Station code MLY
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 Increase 328,558
2011/12 Increase 347,618
2012/13 Decrease 304,066
2013/14 Increase 330,634
2014/15 Increase 334,568
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE West Yorkshire Metro
Zone 2
History
Original company London and North Western Railway
Pre-grouping London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
15 September 1848 Station opened as Morley
30 September 1951 Renamed Morley Low
? Renamed Morley
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Morley from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Morley railway station serves the town of Morley, West Yorkshire, England.

The station is on Huddersfield Line, is operated by Northern, and is 5 miles (8 km) south west of Leeds. The station is at one end of the 4,320-yard (3.95 km) long Morley Tunnel, which goes underneath the town.

Patronage growth

Patronage at Morley station has increased remarkably in recent years, which is reflected by annual figures published by the Office of Rail Regulation.[1] Recorded usage in 2002/03 was 27,296 journeys per year (average of entries and exists).

By 2005/06, this had increased to 68,664 journeys per year, an increase of 252% in four years. And the growth still continues, the figures for 2010/11 increased by 21% on the previous year, to 328,558 journeys per year. Actual growth may be higher since the ORR data does not accurately take account of the multi-modal 'MetroCard' season tickets issued by West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, which are valid for journeys to and from this station.

Current problems

Platform 2

The increase in recorded and actual passengers, combined with growth elsewhere on the line, means that overcrowding in the morning peak for commuters heading towards Leeds is now a serious problem.[2]

Despite commuter growth, very little has been done to bring this station into the 21st century. For example, only one platform is accessible for disabled passengers,[3] there is insufficient parking,[4] access routes to the station are often overgrown with weeds, and there are frequent drainage problems[5] which all combine to make the station not as pleasant as other stations in West Yorkshire. In 2012 a "Friends of Morley station" group was formed, and is addressing some of its issues. Work to improve the car park and drainage commenced in February 2013.

The Morley Observer & Advertiser stated on 12 January 2011 that plans are now in place to update the station, starting with the installation of CCTV.[6] This was later installed.

The outlying location of the station is a major problem to potential users; the station lies over half a mile from the centre of Morley by the most direct route. Also, the most direct route from the station to the centre is both incompletely signposted and treacherous in poor conditions, due to about 40 steps along the way. There is no bus service to the station, with the nearest bus stops also half a mile away.[7]

Morley railway station has neither a taxi rank nor a cab office in the vicinity.[8]

As the only real option for mobility-impaired passengers travelling to or from the station is by taxi, the cost and the waiting time easily negate the respective money and time that may have been saved by travelling by train.[9]

Services

Services from Morley railway station
Legend
Leeds
Cottingley
Morley
Batley
Dewsbury
Ravensthorpe
Mirfield
Deighton
Huddersfield
 Brighouse
 Sowerby Bridge
 Mytholmroyd
 Hebden Bridge
 Todmorden
 Metro passes not valid at or beyond Littleborough[10]
 Littleborough
 Smithy Bridge
 Rochdale
 Castleton
 Mills Hill
 Moston
 Manchester Victoria
 Key
 Leeds to/from Huddersfield
 Leeds to/from Manchester Victoria

Morley railway station is on the Huddersfield Line. As of September 2011, it is served by hourly services throughout the day between Leeds and Huddersfield; and between Leeds and Manchester Victoria via Brighouse. These two services combine to offer a half-hourly service to Leeds, Batley, Dewsbury and Mirfield.

The hourly Huddersfield service continues into the late evening, and runs every two hours on Sundays. The Manchester Victoria service ends in the early evening (last departure in the 2015-16 timetable is at 18:32 westbound, 20:50 eastbound) and does not run on Sundays, necessitating a change of train at Dewsbury or Huddersfield to reach Manchester.[11]

Express trains operated by TransPennine Express between Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly via Huddersfield pass through Morley, but do not stop. To use these services, it is necessary to travel to Dewsbury or Huddersfield on the local trains, and change.

Tickets

Morley railway station does not have a ticket office;[4] passengers are able to purchase tickets on the train from the conductor or on the platform in the morning from station staff with portable ticket machines. This would otherwise present a problem at peak times, as one person cannot possibly sell tickets to every passenger on a crowded train; passengers travelling into Leeds therefore would have to queue up at the excess fares kiosk in Leeds to purchase tickets on arrival, in order to pass through the ticket barriers. It is, however, possible to buy tickets to or from Morley in the usual way at any manned station, with the nearest manned stations being Dewsbury and Leeds. It is also possible to buy tickets in advance online, but note that there is no facility to collect tickets from Morley, and opting to have tickets mailed may incur an additional charge.

An alternative is to purchase a 'MetroCard' season ticket offered by West Yorkshire Metro. As Morley is in Zone 2,[12] all MetroCard tickets[13] that include rail travel are valid at Morley. National Rail also offers a wide selection of rail-only season tickets allowing unlimited travel between Morley and another named station.

West Yorkshire residents who hold a Metro-issued Concessionary Pass are entitled to purchase a ticket for any rail journey wholly within West Yorkshire for half fare after the morning peak.[14] As this can be combined with a standard ticket beyond West Yorkshire, longer journeys can also be made slightly cheaper. For example, travelling from Morley to Manchester Victoria costs significantly less by travelling to Todmorden on the concessionary rate, leaving only the relatively short Todmorden to Manchester journey to be paid for.

History

Morley railway station was opened by the LNWR on 15 September 1848.[15] Originally named Morley, it was renamed Morley Low on 30 September 1951,[15] due to it being far below the town which was on top of Morley tunnel.[16][17]

The town's other station (known as "Morley Top"), which was situated nearer to the town centre and served by trains on the GNR Bradford to Ardsley line, was closed by British Rail on 2 January 1961.[18]

In 2003, plans were in place to upgrade Morley station's facilities by introducing cycle stands, CCTV, and improvements to the car park.[19] As only one platform is accessible to mobility-impaired users, Morley Town Council lobbied (unsuccessfully) to have the upgrade include the installation of wheelchair ramps to platform 2.[20] Only the cycle stands were completed at that time. In January 2011, plans were laid out once again for CCTV cameras to be installed, and these were installed in the following months.[6]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Office of Rail Regulation. "Station usage". Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  2. ↑ Leeds City Region Partnership. "A Long Term Vision for Transport in Leeds City Region" (PDF). p. 24. Retrieved 28 July 2010. Rail service [on the Huddersfield line] is affected by overcrowding, roads are affected by congestion, leading to unreliable journey times.
  3. ↑ National Rail Enquiries. "Morley Station Plan". Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  4. 1 2 National Rail Enquiries. "Station Details - Morley". Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  5. ↑ "National Rail station photograph of Morley Rail Station". Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Morley Station to be revamped at last". Morley Observer & Advertiser. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 12 January 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011. This month funding should be put in place to fund the first step - a CCTV system to protect passengers waiting on the platforms and cars left in the car park.
  7. ↑ National Rail Enquiries. "Local area map for Morley". Retrieved 28 July 2010. Please note: There are no bus services from this station.
  8. ↑ Traintaxi Limited (29 June 2010). "The Traintaxi Project - Morley railway station". Retrieved 2 August 2010. Morley station has neither a taxi rank nor a cab office. Advance booking is essential.
  9. ↑ The minimum fare for any taxi journey up to one mile, as quoted by Local Cars and Morley Central in telephone conversations, is £2.70; Morley Central quote an up to 10 minute pick up time in Leeds city centre, but as Morley station is in an outlying area, it is usually longer.
  10. ↑ West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. "MetroTrain stations interactive map". Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  11. ↑ "National Rail Timetable". Network Rail. Timetable 39. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  12. ↑ West Yorkshire Metro. "MetroTrain stations - Morley". Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  13. ↑ West Yorkshire Passenger Metro. "MetroCard". Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  14. ↑ West Yorkshire Metro]. "Passes - Senior, Blind and Disabled". Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  15. 1 2 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 163. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  16. ↑ From the David Atkinson archive (October 1966). "Photograph of Morley Low Station, waiting room and posters". Leodis photographic archive. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  17. ↑ Young, Alan (2015). Lost Stations of Yorkshire - The West Riding. Kettering: Silver Link. pp. 62–63. ISBN 978-1-85794-438-9.
  18. ↑ Haigh, A (1974). The Railways of Yorkshire. Clapham: Dalesman Books. p. 87. ISBN 9780852062258.
  19. ↑ "Upgrade boost for Morley station". Morley Observer & Advertiser. Johnson Publishing Ltd. 23 July 2003. Retrieved 16 January 2011. Passenger Transport Authority Metro has agreed to upgrade facilities at Morley Low Station.
  20. ↑ "Councillor calls for station work to help disabled". Morley Observer & Advertiser. Johnson Publishing Ltd. 30 July 2003. Retrieved 16 January 2011. The station is currently undergoing a facelift, but access for disabled people is restricted to one platform. There is no wheelchair access to the Huddersfield bound platform 2.

Sources

External links

Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern
Huddersfield Line

 

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