The 10 busiest railway stations in Yorkshire

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on annual estimates of the number of passengers using stations.

The pandemic has seen the number of passengers fall greatly, often reversing recent trends of increased station use. However, the region's busiest stations have mostly remained the same with Leeds at the top of the Yorkshire list and the 14th busiest station in Britain.

Sheffield and York in second and third place have similar levels of use and regularly switch position, but Sheffield was slightly ahead last year.

Bradford Forster Square station suffered less in its decline than some other stations last year, seeing it rise a couple of positions in the rankings. Also Keighley, a station from which it is possible to commute to Forster Square, had a lower loss of passengers than most, resulting in the station joining the top ten for the first time in tenth place. That spot has been occupied by Meadowhall or Halifax in recent years, but they fell to 14th and 15th places respectively as Shipley, Dewsbury and Ilkley also overtook them in the station use figures.

More on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in our archived report Big fall in train use.

 1  Leeds West Yorkshire

5,853,754 Passengers per year 2020-2021*

2019-20 - 31,020,744
2018-19 - 30,838,544
2017-18 - 31,107,672
2016-17 - 30,942,592
2015-16 - 29,723,734

Leeds station at New Station Street is a major rail hub for inter-city, regional express and local services. In recent years the station has seen both increasing commuter use and also an increase in passengers having to travel into Leeds and out again through lack of frequency or speed of more direct services to other destinations.
The station is managed by Network Rail. Operators running services from Leeds are LNER, Cross Country, Transpennine Express, Northern, (East Midlands Railway)

Find out more about Leeds

 2  Sheffield South Yorkshire

1,906,820 Passengers per year 2020-2021*

2019-20 - 10,094,758
2018-19 - 9,907,724
2017-18 - 9,667,514
2016-17 - 9,538,052
2015-16 - 9,213,092

Sheffield railway station at Sheaf Square offers inter-city, regional express and local services. The station is situated on routes from Yorkshire towards the East and West Midlands and South West England. London St Pancras can be reached on a route via the East Midlands, although changing at Doncaster to go to London's King's Cross is sometimes as quick or quicker. There are services to many Yorkshire destinations, including Huddersfield, Leeds and Hull and also to Lincolnshire, Nottingham and through the Derbyshire Peak District to Manchester. The station has a high commuter use, helped by its connectivity with the Sheffield Supertram system which operates into the heart of the city and other destinations.
The station is managed by East Midlands Railway. Operators running services from Sheffield are East Midlands Railway, Cross Country, Transpennine Express and Northern. The station also has a Stagecoach Supertram stop.

Find out more about Sheffield

 3  York City of York

1,836,500 Passengers per year 2020-2021*

2019-20 - 10,089,306
2018-19 - 9,990,538
2017-18 - 9,833,864
2016-17 - 9,264,090
2015-16 - 8,848,652

The present York station at Station Road layed claim to being the largest station in the world at the time it opened in 1877. The station is on the East Coast main line between London King's Cross, North East England and Scotland, with services also towards the Midlands and South West England, expresses towards Leeds, Huddersfield, Manchester and Liverpool with destinations in the opposite direction including Scarborough, Middlesbrough and Redcar. There are also stopping services to Leeds, to Harrogate and Hull via Selby.
The station is managed by LNER. Operators running services from York are LNER, Cross Country, Grand Central, TransPennine Express and Northern.

Find out more about York

 4  Huddersfield West Yorkshire

1,025,712 Passengers per year 2020-2021*

2019-20 - 4,769,384
2018-19 - 4,897,612
2017-18 - 5,100,976
2016-17 - 5,092,542
2015-16 - 5,041,600

A magnificent Grade I listed building in St George's Square, Huddersfield station is the second biggest rail hub in West Yorkshire after Leeds with more than 250 trains a day. The through line offers local and express services to Manchester stations and to Dewsbury and Leeds. There are also express trains continuing to Manchester Airport and Liverpool in a westward direction and to destinations including York, Hull, Scarborough, Middlesbrough and Redcar and to Newcastle and Edinburgh heading east. The station also has a commuter line to Huddersfield-area villages on the Penistone line which is also its main but slow route to Barnsley and Sheffield in South Yorkshire. Huddersfield also provides services via Mirfield to Wakefield Kirkgate and Castleford and via Brighouse and Halifax to Bradford.
The station is managed by TransPennine Express. Operators running services are TransPennine Express and Northern.

Find out more about Huddersfield

 5  Doncaster South Yorkshire

890,238 Passengers per year 2020-2021*

2019-20 - 3,946,406
2018-19 - 3,917,948
2017-18 - 3,857,370
2016-17 - 3,825,644
2015-16 - 3,751,802

Doncaster station is a hub on the East Coast Main Line which connects London to York, North East England and Scotland. Just north of Doncaster some trains branch from the main route to head to West Yorkshire destinations, including Leeds, or eastwards towards Hull. Transpennine Express services from Manchester and Sheffield call here on their route to North East Lincolnshire. Northern operate services to several destinations, including stations to Adwick-le-Street, Sheffield, Hull, Bridlington and to Lincoln. East Midlands Railway operate services through Lincolnshire to Peterborough and a Cross Country route from Newcastle operates via Doncaster to Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham, Oxford and Reading.
The station is managed by LNER. Operators running services are LNER, Transpennine Express, Northern, Hull Trains, Grand Central, East Midlands Railway and Cross Country.

Find out more about Doncaster

 6  Bradford Interchange West Yorkshire

662,282 Passengers per year 2020-2021*

2019-20 - 2,675,278
2018-19 - 2,609,372
2017-18 - 2,768,524
2016-17 - 2,976,052
2015-16 - 2,993,340

Bradford Interchange at Bridge Street is the southernmost of the two terminus stations at either side of Bradford city centre. The station is next to the city's bus station and offers local trains to Leeds, Brighouse, Huddersfield, Halifax and Calder Valley stations towards Manchester Victoria or Preston. Services also continue beyond Leeds to York and Hull. Bradford Interchange is also the terminus of Grand Central train services to London King's Cross. The total for Bradford Interchange and Bradford Foster Square (below) is 4,604,226, which would place Bradford above Doncaster but below Huddersfield on a combined figure.
The station is managed by Northern. Operators running services from Bradford Interchange are Northern and Grand Central.

Find out more about Bradford

 7  Bradford Forster Square West Yorkshire

614,708 Passengers per year 2020-2021*

2019-20 - 1,946,622
2018-19 - 1,994,854
2017-18 - 2,027,276
2016-17 - 2,112,894
2015-16 - 2,065,658

Find out more about Bradford

 8  Wakefield Westgate West Yorkshire

542,368 Passengers per year 2020-2021*

2019-20 - 2,406,928
2018-19 - 2,472,506
2017-18 - 2,476,988
2016-17 - 2,540,890
2015-16 - 2,519,480

Find out more about Wakefield

 9  Hull Hull

538,196 Passengers per year 2020-2021*

2019-20 - 2,382,772
2018-19 - 2,356,812
2017-18 - 2,514,004
2016-17 - 2,383,244
2015-16 - 2,251,834

Find out more about Kingston upon Hull

 10  Keighley West Yorkshire

527,384 Passengers per year 2020-2021*

2019-20 - 1,570,638

Find out more about Keighley




* Figures based on Office of Rail and Road highest estimates of station entries and exits, annual figures between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2021. Latest figures published November 2021.
Contains public sector information licensed under the  Open Government Licence v3.0.

Also in Yorkshire.guide

 Home     Travel     Places to visit   

---