Why Does Bradford Have Two Stations?
When I wrote The New Apperley Bridge Station, I noted that on my journeys on the Calder Valley Line on Saturday and today, my trains called at Bradford Interchange, but that the trains through Apperley Bridge station called at Bradford Forster Square station.
So I asked myself, the question, that is the title of this post.
This Google Map shows the two stations.
Bradford Stations
Bradford Forster Square station is towards the top and Bradford Interchange station is towards the bottom of the map.
Bradford Interchange, which is a combined bus and rail station rebuilt and opened in the 1970s, which is not an outstanding period for superbly executed Rail stations.
To make matters worse, all trains must reverse at Bradford Interchange, which means the driver changes ends.
Note that between the two stations, there is a large shopping centre, that has been opened in 2015.
You’d have thought with all this rebuilding that a solution to the two station problem would have been found.
Two solutions have been proposed.
- Bradford Crossrail – A heavy rail link between the stations.
- A tram-train is outlined in this article in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
I know the Germans would squeeze a tram-train through somewhere, but I suspect there might be something more imaginative and much more affordable.
After all the distance is 0.7 km. and the stations only have seven platforms between them.
Around the world, there are several successful lightweight people movers in city centres.
- High-tech and expensive monorails.
- Light railways like the Docklands Light Railway in London.
- Tram shuttles.
- Travelators and escalators.
- Free mini buses as in Manchester.
Surely, a good engineering solution at an affordable price must exist., which could connect the two stations to each other and to the shopping centre.
But what about some eco-friendly battery buses, as the distance is under a kilometre.
.
The Anonymous Widower 
[…] complicated, the stupid fact that Bradford has two entirely separate stations, as I wrote about in Why Does Bradford Have Two Stations?, means the […]
Pingback by The Future Of The Calder Valley Line « The Anonymous Widower | January 5, 2016 |
[…] discussed Bradford’s problem in Why Does Bradford Have Two Stations? and came to the solution that some form of high tech people mover would probably be […]
Pingback by Arrival In Bradford Interchange Station « The Anonymous Widower | April 23, 2017 |
Up until 2020 there was a free Metro minibus service between Interchange and Forster Square, but that was discontinued as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (METRO), pulled the plug on funding, citing underuse.
As for the reason why there are two stations, the line that now terminates at Forster Square, then called Market Street, was operated by the Midland Railway and routed services via Shipley towards Lancaster and the seaside resort of Morecambe. Bradford Exchange station, now demolished, was a couple of minutes walk away and routed via Low Moor and Halifax to Manchester and the seaside resort of Blackpool. When the Bradford Bus and Rail Interchange was proposed it was envisaged that the lines would be extended and combine into one central transport hub but this never happened, so we now have two stations serving different regions. With the withdrawal of the free bus service this has, especially in winter, become a sore point with passengers.
Comment by Patrick Gregory | January 16, 2022 |