The 10 busiest railway stations in Yorkshire

 1  Leeds West Yorkshire

30,838,544 Passengers per year 2018-2019*

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. Leeds is the UK's third busiest railway station outside London.
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  York City of York

9,990,538 Passengers per year 2018-2019*

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

 3  Sheffield South Yorkshire

9,907,724 Passengers per year 2018-2019*

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 Midland Trains. 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

 4  Huddersfield West Yorkshire

4,897,612 Passengers per year 2018-2019*

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

3,917,948 Passengers per year 2018-2019*

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

2,609,372 Passengers per year 2018-2019*

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  Wakefield Westgate West Yorkshire

2,472,506 Passengers per year 2018-2019*

2017-18 - 2,476,988
2016-17 - 2,540,890
2015-16 - 2,519,480

Find out more about Wakefield

 8  Hull Hull

2,356,812 Passengers per year 2018-2019*

2017-18 - 2,514,004
2016-17 - 2,383,244
2015-16 - 2,251,834

Find out more about Kingston upon Hull

 9  Bradford Forster Square West Yorkshire

1,994,854 Passengers per year 2018-2019*

2017-18 - 2,027,276
2016-17 - 2,112,894
2015-16 - 2,065,658

Find out more about Bradford

 10  Halifax West Yorkshire

1,842,644 Passengers per year 2018-2019*

2017-18 - 1,948,692
2016-17 - 1,992,624

Find out more about Halifax

The total of Bradford's two terminal stations is 4,604,226, which would see the city positioned above Doncaster and below Huddersfield. The total for Wakefield Westgate and Wakefield Kirkgate (524,690) is 2,997,196, which keeps Wakefield in a position above Hull but below the combined total for Bradford.

The period saw a small drop in passenger numbers at many stations across Yorkshire, including some which had previously shown year-on-year increases. Many days of strike action at rail operator Northern during the period of the latest figures and rail fare increases across all operators may have been contributory factors. Stations which saw an increase are notably ones where a high proportion of passengers use services other than Northern.

Compared with the previous year, York maintained its second place just above Sheffield, Wakefield Westgate shifted back to being just above Hull and Halifax continued to occupy 10th place, ahead of Meadowhall.


* Figures based on Office of Rail and Road highest estimates of station entries and exits, annual figures between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2019. Latest figures published December 2019.
Contains public sector information licensed under the  Open Government Licence v3.0.

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