Yorkshire's busiest railway stations

Millions of passengers a year take the train from cities and towns

Nearly every railway station in Yorkshire is seeing a rise in passenger numbers according to the latest Office of Rail and Road estimates — published in December 2025 for the year to March 2025.

Although passenger numbers are increasing again, the Covid-19 pandemic had a massive impact on the number of passengers using railway stations. This was then followed by a period of railway staff strikes. Numbers are only now coming close to pre-pandemic figures.

Engineering work leading to diversions on some routes, particularly the north TransPennine Route, has had a big impact on numbers of passengers at some Yorkshire stations this year.

The region's busiest stations have mostly remained the same with Leeds at the top of the Yorkshire list. Leeds also remains the 16th busiest station in Britain and the third busiest of stations outside London, only just behind Manchester Piccadilly.

York and Sheffield are in second and third place in Yorkshire. They have similar levels of use and regularly switch position in the annual figures. York takes second place back from Sheffield in these figures, but both have passengers numbers reaching a recent record high this year.

Entering the top 20 this year is Guiseley in West Yorkshire, in 19th place. Meanwhile, Dewsbury drops out of the top 20, possibly affected by periods of station closure during the TransPennine Route Upgrade.

Yorkshire's least used stations are Rawcliffe with 412 passenger entries and exits during the year, Hensall with 580, Whitley Bridge near Eggborough with 860, and Snaith with 1,254. For a line that is only provided with two passenger trains a day in the Leeds direction and one passenger train a day in the Goole direction, the figures are not especially surprising.

Leeds station

1 Leeds West Yorkshire

27,309,508 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 24,891,386
2022-23 - 23,964,156
2021-22 - 19,263,472
2020-21 - 5,853,754
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 and Northern

Find out more about Leeds

York station

2 York City of York

10,464,102 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 9,185,236
2022-23 - 8,862,978
2021-22 - 8,091,546
2020-21 - 1,836,500
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

Sheffield station

3 Sheffield South Yorkshire

10,315,220 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2022-23 - 9,449,310
2022-23 - 8,677,012
2021-22 - 7,205,884
2020-21 - 1,906,820
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 and Liverpool. 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

Doncaster station

4 Doncaster South Yorkshire

4,533,514 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 3,915,952
2022-23 - 3,634,522
2021-22 - 3,519,786
2020-21 - 890,238
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 Liverpool, 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

Huddersfield station

5 Huddersfield West Yorkshire

3,136,040 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 3,021,982
2022-23 - 3,020,630
2021-22 - 3,041,816
2020-21 - 1,025,712
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 200 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 , Saltburn-by-the-Sea via Middlesbrough and Redcar , and to Newcastle 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 . Growth in passengers at this station is likely to have been reduced by periods of closure of the station and diversion of some trains during the TransPennine Route Upgrade.
The station is managed by TransPennine Express. Operators running services are TransPennine Express and Northern.

Find out more about Huddersfield

Hull station

6 Hull Hull

2,908,428 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 2,639,696
2022-23 - 2,383,442
2021-22 - 1,993,364
2020-21 - 538,196
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

Bradford Interchange

7 Bradford Interchange West Yorkshire

2,359,354 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 2,328,886
2022-23 - 2,224,912
2021-22 - 1,762,388
2020-21 - 662,282
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. Although a terminus station, many of its services are through trains operating between other city destinations, arriving at the station and leaving in the reverse direction in as little as two minutes.
The station is managed by Northern. Operators running services from Bradford Interchange are Northern and Grand Central.

Find out more about Bradford

Wakefield Westgate station

8 Wakefield Westgate West Yorkshire

2,908,428 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 2,057,144
2022-23 - 1,937,112
2021-22 - 1,789,788
2020-21 - 542,368
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

Meadowhall station

9 Meadowhall South Yorkshire

1,910,838 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 1,678,346
2022-23 - 1,452,778
2021-22 - 1,344,910
2020-21 - 379,456

Find Meadowhall on map.

Harrogate station

10 Harrogate North Yorkshire

1,879,366 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 1,617,306
2022-23 - 1,502,560
2021-22 - 1,211,846

Find out more about Harrogate

Halifax station

11 Halifax West Yorkshire

1,803,018 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 1,620,970
2022-23 - 1,418,602
2018-19 - 1,842,644
2017-18 - 1,948,692
2016-17 - 1,992,624

Find out more about Halifax

Middlesbrough station

12 Middlesbrough

1,543,226 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 1,466,884
2022-23 - 1,376,410

Find out more about Middlesbrough

Barnsley Interchange

13 Barnsley South Yorkshire

1,519,762 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 1,397,540
2022-23 - 1,213,334

Find out more about Barnsley

Bradford Forster Square station

14 Bradford Forster Square West Yorkshire

1,457,418 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 1,425,866
2022-23 - 1,165,010
2021-22 - 1,301,266
2020-21 - 614,708
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

Keighley station

15 Keighley West Yorkshire

1,405,910 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 1,325,068
2022-23 - 1,290,608
2019-20 - 1,570,638

Find out more about Keighley

Ilkley station

16 Ilkley West Yorkshire

1,358,126 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 1,175,906
2022-23 - 1,118,700

Find out more about Ilkley

Skipton station

17 Skipton North Yorkshire

1,206,418 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 1,178,096
2022-23 - 1,098,966

Find out more about Skipton

Shipley station

18 Shipley West Yorkshire

1,195,542 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

2023-24 - 1,129,942
2022-23 - 1,106,944

Find out more about Shipley

Guiseley station

19 Guiseley West Yorkshire

1,019,178 Passengers per year 2024-2025*

Find out more about Guiseley

Bingley station

20 Bingley West Yorkshire

938,782 Passengers per year 2024-2025

2023-24 - 938,782
2022-23 - 920,000

Find out more about Bingley

* Figures based on Office of Rail and Road highest estimates of station entries and exits, annual figures between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2025. Latest figures published December 2025.
Contains public sector information licensed under the

Open Government Licence v3.0 .

Page updated: Friday, 05-Dec-2025 13:50:53 UTC

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