Halifax Station – Halifax and District Rail Action Group

What needs doing at Halifax station – now!

Hadrag received an encouraging initial reply from Northern Trains on our shopping list of urgent needs for Halifax station. We also had a good opening conversation with West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) people who were at a recent stakeholder conference run by Northern, followed by a written response.

Key demands are summarised in the table below. Hadrag’s six-page report is based on observations at the station by Hadrag’s secretary Peter Stocks, and chair Stephen Waring.

Hadrag’s early action points

Improved safety all areas	Traffic and tripping hazards on approach bridge. Crowding on platform. Stairway needs clear one-way system and central handrail. Narrow section of P2 curves the “wrong” way. Hazard when passing crowds. People need to move along.
More information screens	Existing one on P2 invisible from most of platform. Needs coordinating with where passengers are asked to wait. Additional info screens (3 or 4 extra are needed) at S end of platform showing both next trains info and list of next few trains. Maybe one outside station entrance.
Better toilets	Present single unit is modern in a sense but vary basic. We suggest replacing with modern unit at station entrance or improved facility next to waiting room.
Better access – lift	Compares unfavourably with other stations. Out-of-service periods have caused lack of confidence. Lift needs to be replaced for reliability and modern feel. Could alternative ramped access be provided?
Staff roles	Best part of station is ticket and information office – staff roles much appreciated. Welcoming, human presence. Shop is also strong feature.

The thing was – every time you visited the station you seemed to spot something else. In the end we had to “freeze” our thoughts and get on with submitting to Northern (who operate the station), track authority Network Rail, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, key stakeholder Calderdale Council and Kate Dearden MP (Halifax).

Of course there has been some history to all this. Some years ago there was a series of consultations on a station “gateway” project. That would have created a new entrance, new pedestrian approach bridge, and car parking (including disabled) at ground level. There would have been lifts so passengers could get “up and over” to and from their trains. Hadrag successfully argued bridge access should be retained to facilitate foot access from town and bus stops.

But little as far as we could see was proposed to improve surroundings for train passengers down on the platform. There was talk of Northern replacing the existing lift, as well as providing new lifts to get up from ground-level entrances. A new ticket office was proposed but on the ground floor in the new entrance building, not too convenient for people arriving on foot. New toilets were also to be on the ground floor.

After the pandemic, bodies such as WYCA found themselves short of funding as that snap of inflation took bite. And the Halifax station gateway project was “paused” (not quite cancelled), meaning an indefinite wait for further progress. (Elland station has been paused getting on for 30 years!)

Hadrag says we cannot be expected to wait for a revived “gateway” scheme. We need a new project that can be done in easy and affordable early stages focusing on items that will directly benefit train users. Our table sums up what we have in mind.

We highlight the need to improve safety. Manoeuvring past crowds of people waiting on the narrow part of Platform 2 can be frightening. (Some of us have taken to shouting “excuse me please”!) But this problem could be addressed if P2 trains were to stop further back where it is wider. Signs and announcements could politely direct people to move along.

An exit from the waiting room to the wide south end of the island platform would help. This would mean moving the passenger toilet recently refurbished been but you’d be skilled to spot the difference. Would a modern unit at the station entrance be better?

The glazed platform level sliding doors have never worked. They are out of keeping with the 19th century architecture and need to be removed and the whole area tidied up.

The station entrance becomes very congested. The interaction between pedestrians arriving from the direction of Halifax Piece Hall and cars steering onto the station forecourt is a hazard.

The best thing about the station is its ticket office, staffed by excellent people, friendly and helpful in a way that online sources, vending machines or the dreaded AI can never be. Staff must be retained, whatever hi-tech ticketing solutions arise. Halifax station boasts a footfall getting on for 2 million a year. Booking office staff can help in all sorts of ways. So let’s value them. Human contact makes rail journeys better.

“Halifax Railway Station” by David Ward is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Autumn-Winter 2025-6 Update: Hadrag’s been busy

Hadrag’s been busy since our 40th anniversary meeting in Brighouse (June). We’ve called for an action plan on Halifax station, not an indefinite wait for revival of a shelved “gateway” scheme. We want all present trains to call at Sowerby Bridge.

And we’ve reiterated ambitions for Bradford-Calderdale-Sheffield trains: Brighouse to Sheffield little more than 50 minutes – capacity permitting! Projects that will deliver in our lifetimes must be prioritised over very long-term plans for new lines. Could recent trains Halifax-Leeds via Brighouse be another easy model to take forward? Read on for more on all that.

Latest station footfall statistics are just out – more analysis to follow in Spring issue. Among Calderdale’s top 5 stations, Halifax comes top with 1,803,014 passenger comings and goings in year ending March 2025, just a little below pre-pandemic best. Sowerby Bg, Hebden Bg and Todmorden now exceed pre-pandemic performance with Brighouse just a little behind.

If you want to do your own analysis see link to table-1415-time-series-of-passenger-entries-and-exits-and-interchanges-by-station.ods in the ORR statistics.

We just wish Northern could get our trains running on time. York-Blackpool, marred by lateness, cancellations and lack of carriages should be a premier service. It’s not all Northern’s fault: delays get knocked on from other train operators and Network Rail – including climate events. The Hadrag Survey recorded some of the best performance 30 years ago. Train running and overcrowding now feel as bad as ever. Again more in next issue – meanwhile, read on and join us!

“Halifax- Station and Horton Street, from Beacon Hill (2577872319)” by Tim Green from Bradford is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

Down at the Station

Big crowds at Halifax station when we were there one Saturday. Issues Hadrag had raised decades ago were still issues. People crowding on the narrowest parts of the island platform particularly the Leeds-bound platform by the waiting room where the curve reduces how far you can see. Having to say “excuse me” to pass folks close to the edge just feels unsafe. How about what we suggested all those years ago: signs, PA announcements, and screen messages inviting people to move along to where there is more space. More seats would also be good.

Latest footfall statistics from the Office of Road and Rail came out as we were putting this Rail Views to bed. Halifax recorded 1,620,920 passenger entries and exits (Apr’23 to Mar’24). This compares with a peak of 1,992,662 – so near 2 million! – in 2016-17. The pandemic yielded a low of 368,000 (2020-21), since when we’ve seen a healthy increase. We can see the increase in leisure travel with our own eyes – crowded trains on Sunday! Commuting is also back on the increase – but many workers are going in for fewer days. We’ll do a full report for our first issue in 2025. For now we’ll just add that Sowerby Bg is on 372,672 (91% of peak value 409,938 in 2019). Sowerby Bg now has slightly higher footfall then Brighouse. Let’s hope Northern can build on this. (More on this in next issue of Rail Views.)

Back at Halifax, at time of writing the single lift – essential for people unable to use the stairs – had been out of service for some days. Thanks to Northern for keeping us informed: work was completed as predicted. Years ago we suggested installation of a ramp. It would have to be a substantial structure to provide for disabled access.

Toilet at back of waiting room is still unpleasant to use. Plans to replace fittings – we have asked about timescale – look to be pretty much like-for-like. How about a new modular unit at the station entrance? Would plumbing be a problem? (In the early days of Hadrag, toilets were always mentioned at our AGMs!) With the station gateway proposals “pipelined” – waiting for funding from somewhere – there is a fear nothing will be done. Halifax deserves better than this. Could car parking could be moved off the forecourt to ground level? New access would have to be made, but space would be created at the station entrance to facilitate safe drop-off, pickup, taxis, and of course good access for people with disabilities.

Halifax station: chance to look at options for progress – option zero not enough!

After years of planning, 2022’s surge of inflation got the better of several West Yorkshire capital schemes. One was Halifax station’s Gateway, a project complicated by involving five (at least) different legal stakeholders. Calderdale Council, owner of ground-level property leased by the Eureka! museum including their car park and the 1855 original station building. Northern Trains and Network Rail have the railway premises. And West Yorkshire Combined Authority (Metro) have an oversight in terms of transport policy and the money from government – money that is no longer enough. (If we have got any of this wrong, please tell us.) So we have moved from about to go ahead to “pause and pipeline”. Pause is obvious. Pipeline means, we think, hoping that funding will come from alternative sources yet to be identified.

So what next for rail’s gateway to our town? The station is ideal as an access point for Square Chapel Arts Centre, the library, the unique Piece Hall and all the shops, cafés and events it hosts. We could go on. With so much work done on planning the Gateway scheme we can see there’s an argument for not doing anything until full funding appears. How long could that be? Five years? Ten?? “Option zero” (our phrase) – wait until the whole scheme can be funded – seems to be in favour. That means waiting for alternative sources of investment.

The plans could be improved. It was good that a new bridge was to be provided for pedestrians – and we hope cyclists – to access the first floor concourse, the bad news was that the ticket office was to be on the ground floor. We were told this was because Northern felt it necessary to keep a physical eye on people going in and out of the public toilet also on the ground floor. But access to the trains is via the footbridge, rather obviously on the first floor. You couldn’t make it up.

“Option 1” would be a programme of incremental improvements retaining what we have without sabotaging future development. Do we really need to demolish the present building containing booking office and shop? Could it be retained and improved, built upon?

What are our priorities?

Toilets

The issue of “public conveniences” seems to have painfully emerged more often than anything else about Halifax station over 38 years (heaven help us) of HADRAG meetings. Toilets on the station are important, not least because our new trains have only one and if that one is not working discomfort (at best) will result. The present station facility is a single unit at the back of the platform waiting room, so not accessible outside staffing hours. During autumn 2022 it was out of order for several weeks. When it reopened HADRAG’s anonymous secret consumer decently took a peep, initially put off by the lock indicator which has always suggested “engaged” when “vacant”. The sink contained an empty whisky bottle and a crisp packet. Everything else looked “normal”: reasonably clean, but suggestive of a previous century.

We suggest:

A new unit be installed at the station entrance where an eye could be kept by staff on who is going in and coming out. There is a staff toilet at that level so this proposal would seem achievable.
In Greater Manchester there is a programme of new modular toilet installations (as pictured) at stations including Littleborough. Clearly this must be spread across the Northern network.

Platform access – lift, doors and footbridge

The lift, essential for some rail users to access trains, seems to work but is another feature with a last-century air. What can be done at low cost to modernise it?

Sliding doors from the foot of the stairs to the platform have never worked and need to be removed.
The footbridge itself appears to need structural repair.
How might waiting passengers be encouraged to stand in the best place, promoting efficient boarding and alighting, and on-time departures, whilst and not blocking access from the footbridge stairs to what is actually the narrowest part of the platform. Do trains stop in the best place?

Approach bridge – remove general parking and refurbish

Able-bodied drivers who fill the station car park on the approach bridge early in the morning could park at ground level. A deal could be reached with Eureka! to provide free parking for rail users. Removal of general parking on the bridge ease movement everyone.

Direct access by ramp (possibly lift) would be required from ground level to the station entrance.
The approach bridge would then be free for walkers, disabled car users and cyclists.
There would be more space on the bridge for drop-off, pick-up, and taxis.
With at least medium-term future assured the bridge needs serious refurbishment with attractive paint colours.
The ticket office and shop are both well used. Many people will queue in the booking office rather than battle with awkward ticket vending machines that can never deliver the ticket and information services provided by the station’s excellent staff. Not everyone wants to depend on a mobile phone.

More platforms and future use of 1855 building?

The original 1855 station is part of the Eureka! estate but seems to be little used. It was rejected in early iterations of the Gateway scheme. A strength of the Gateway project was provision for possible future reinstatement of Platform 3, alongside the 1855 building.

Why stop at Platform 3? If mass transit eventually reaches Halifax, or more complex service patterns develop in a future where public, not private, transport is the norm, why not Platform 4 as well? Future plans must respect that possibility.

Community rail at Halifax

If you have seen posters at Halifax station featuring Calderdale scenes and Anne Lister they are down to students at Calderdale College. The college and Northern have developed a station adoption arrangement, involving young people in support for the station. HADRAG enthusiastically supports this.

Now that the station is going to stay as it is for the time being, could the posters be more permanent?
Community rail groups and the Calder Valley Community Rail Partnership should be involved in developing an action plan for the station.

Conclusion: There is much that can be done and must be done to improve Halifax station for rail passengers and the local community. This cannot wait 5 years or more for a grand scheme to attract funding. A step-by-step process must be considered. – JSW

Response to Halifax Gateway Plans

HADRAG has welcomed the latest stage of plans for Halifax station. A pedestrian footbridge will give level access to and from to town. A new concourse building on two levels will provide a much more spacious waiting area for passengers. Concerns include need for more lifts, and perhaps a better ticket office. We also highlighted needs for climate awareness and green design. There will be a further consultation later this year. Meanwhile here is an edited version of our February response.

Positives

The latest plan includes the following essential features, greatly improved on earlier iterations:

(a) Level pedestrian bridge between concourse at ticket hall level and town centre will be a massive improvement on the present congested approach bridge, and will mean pedestrians and cyclists will continue to have level access.

(a) potentially much better café and retailing facilities.

(b) potential for community rail development e.g. work by local students, artists, poets and performers, heritage displays, space for community events. Diverse and inclusive. We ask:

How about developing links with the varied and fascinating history of local transport? Part of the “future development” retail areas on the ground floor could be a “pop-up” exhibition area or mini-museum. (Perhaps it could even be a “taster” installation for the nearby Calderdale Industrial Museum.)
Could a community room be provided for meetings and events?
We would like to see encouragement of a station adoption “Friends” group to develop the station’s role in the community, working alongside the station operator and the proposed Calder Valley Line Community Rail Partnership.

(c) Wider access links – very good, particularly for walking and cycling with links to the Hebble Trail as well as town. Indeed the station will become a hub linking the Hebble valley and town centre.

(d) Bus stops: whilst the bus stops in are not as close to the station entrance as we might have liked, this must will be turned into an opportunity:

We hope bus operators will be persuaded to serve the new stops providing interchange from the train station to all parts of Halifax.
We welcome the long-needed provision for rail replacement buses to pick up immediately outside the station entrance.
Whilst the nearest stops for main buses will be in Alfred St East, Horton Street and Church Street, we hope the station entrance by the drop-off point might become a terminus for a round-Halifax local minibus service linking train and bus stations, shopping and leisure areas close to town as well as Dean Clough business area, and visitor attractions such as Bankfield Museum and Shibden Hall. The design must allow for this.

(e) Improved car parking. Whilst people understandably continue to demand “park and ride” at rail stations, sustainable access to the station must be encouraged. We note that Eureka pay-parking will be available in addition to the parking specified by the railway. Electric vehicle charging is mentioned, and we hope most if not all parking spots will have EV charging points nearby.

Concerns and suggestions

(b) Ticket office/travel centre/information: as with many modern stations, proposed ticket windows look to be direct onto the concourse, potentially causing difficulty because of noise or other distractions. Would a walk-in ticket office more like the one in the present station building would be better? – a travel centre providing a wide variety of information on journey options and local facilities. It is assumed that ticket vending machines would be located at several points about the concourse. We hope information screens, at various points around the concourse will show local bus and other information as well as train times.

(c) Access to platforms (existing footbridge and single lift). We hope this will not be a step from bright modern newness into an old building looking down-at-heel. Work will be needed to keep the heritage buildings around the island platform at their best. Concern that there will still only be a single lift (the existing one) down to the platforms needs to be logged as a priority for future investment though we appreciate there is no simple solution.

(d) We understand here may be some changes on the platform to help reduce passenger congestion. We hope these will include features to encourage waiting passengers to move away from the narrowest part next to the waiting room. Assuming new modern toilets in the concourse building will allow the present unsatisfactory single unit, could this make space for an exit from the waiting room at its south end, accessing the widest covered part of the platform area? There needs to be liaison with and between Network Rail and the train company about where trains stop along the length of the platforms and how this affect passenger movement and efficient boarding and alighting.

Finally

Final big positive: Town footbridge concept – the consultants have given three examples of iconic designs reflecting local heritage in a modern way. It’s a concept worth supporting. We say the gateway must make a big mark. It must be visible from a distance – for example from the Southowram hillside as well as lower parts of the town – and attract people towards the station. Seating should be provided on the bridge, alongside art and heritage displays reflecting the history and diversity of our community. – JSW

Halifax Railway Station plans: last chance to comment – for now

UPDATE 14 February 2021. Consultation on latest plans for Halifax railway station closes today. So you might just have time to do the online survey! (Halifax Railway Station | Your Voice (westyorks-ca.gov.uk)) Highly positive plans for a new gateway building with enlarged concourse and better have been influenced in part by HADRAG. We rate the scheme very good but have some points that need improving. See our earlier notes further down this post and our response just sent in to the consultations HERE. More detailed plans are due this summer with a further chance to comment. We are expecting more detail on how the new concourse building will link up with the station’s “island” platforms 1 & 2. We understand there could be minor changes on the platforms to help passenger circulation.

(2021.02.13-hfx-response-hadrag-web-vsn)Download

Go to the Consultation:
WYCA Website

Some notes from HADRAG while you review the proposals

HADRAG supports the overall proposals for Halifax station’s new entrance building that will link to the existing platforms whilst retaining the possibility of a third platform in the future. There are details that we want to make sure the planners get right. You can have your say in a current consultation until 14 February. Please join us in supporting the scheme whilst putting forward ideas to make it even better. Here are some points to think about:

Much as it would be nice to re-use the 1851 building, it appears too narrow to hold the modern facilities needed.
We believe the layout and plan is future-proofed, allowing for further development, including the option of a new ‘platform 3’, which could give amore operational flexibility in the long term as well as more space for passengers.
Importance of the pedestrian bridge access on the level, between station concourse and town – iconic designs are suggested! Support active travel is proposed by the reinstated underpass and refurbished ramped pathways (cycle and pedestrian) to Berry Lane, Waterside and the Hebble Trail, as well as at the front of the station.
Bus stops are some distance away, and earlier versions of the scheme proposed a mini-bus station at car park level. At least the pedestrian bridge provides reasonably direct access, albeit with a road crossing. The scheme does include space for rail replacement buses to access when needed – alongside taxi and disabled parking right next to the station entrance – and that will be a massive improvement.
Could a high-quality minibus service linking town centre, train and bus stations, Dean Clough and attractions (e.g. Shibden Hall, Bankfield Museum) start from the station entrance? This, of course, would be a separate development.
We’d suggest a possible improvement to the ticket office, which is shown, as in many modern stations, with the counter opening directly onto the concourse. Maybe a more enclosed design, more of a walk-in travel shop, that would be quieter for people negotiating complex transactions?
Access between ticket hall and ground level. Only one public lift is proposed. The illustrations show a proposed goods lift in the staff area: could this be re-located and made suitable for public use? An alternative would be ramped access but that would be a major additional structure.
Access to platforms. We don’t think the present plans involve any significant changes to the island platform but access should improve at least cosmetically.

BB/JSW

Parking Question

A couple of things stark-staringly obvious about Halifax station approach: you can’t park after 06.30 in the morning; and whenever a big train arrives there is a veritable chaos of cars, taxis, pedestrians and the occasional two-wheeler, with vehicles trying to get in to pick up while others are leaving. Pedestrian provision is limited to a footway on one side only, leading to highway-code defying behaviour. A sensible idea would take parking off the bridge, leaving more room for pedestrians (and perhaps taxis and drop-off). Many would say transformed access arrangements should at least double the current amount of rail users’ parking, perhaps with a 2-level car park. But do we really want to encourage more and more people to access Halifax station by car increasing road congestion at the bottom of town? Might it be better to develop best possible access for pedestrians, buses, cycles, disabled and pick-up/drop-off whilst developing neighbouring stations such as Sowerby Bridge and Brighouse for park and ride? Both would require enlarged car parks, and improved train services to match. Just a thought !

What, no gates?

Northern were to install automatic ticket gates at Halifax by the end of March.

Shelving for a moment the question of whether or not passengers actually want these awkward barriers, there are franchise targets to meet which seem to mean gating as many stations as possible. Oh, but hang on, it’s now April and no Halifax gates. They’re going in somewhere else first (possibly Skipton, we heard). Apparently there is concern over increased loading on Halifax’s 19th century footbridge when large crowds are queuing to get through. So Halifax gates are postponed (just postponed).

Our station is pretty congested now and could see more massive crowds in future, when, for example, there are big events at the Piece Hall. It’s obvious gates mean delays and queues, inconvenience for people with disabilities, and potential mishaps as people juggle tickets, bags, small children, dogs and cartons of hot drink. But if structural strength of the footbridge is an issue could that be a game changer? Maintenance on the road approach bridge is on hold pending a decision on whether it goes or stays. Currently a weight limit prevents large buses getting near the station entrance. One view says pull the lot down, build a new station building at ground level, have level access to a regenerated Platform 3 and a subway to the island platform utilising space underneath the arches. Some of us (maybe including some rail professionals) wonder if the subway idea is feasible. So maybe what’s needed is a new bridge. Or bridges.

Gateway plan could put station at heart of town. But what’s best for rail users?

UPDATE March 2017. HADRAG hopes to make Halifax station plans a central topic at this year’s Annual General Meeting, being planned for Saturday 13th May in Halifax. We should have a presentation from Calderdale council officers, and we are also inviting West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the Northern train operator. Watch out for details of time and venue. Meanwhile here are some points to ponder (just slightly expanded) from our newsletter earlier this year:

HALIFAX station is a mixture of old and new that somehow works. Could it work better? The road approach bridge that once spanned a railway goods yards now separates car-parking from play area on the Eureka childrens’ museum site. It’s a good level access for pedestrians between town and the modern station entrance. Rail users’ car-parking is demonstrably inadequate, and competes with taxis and drop-off/pick-up for space. Viewed from ground level the bridge may be seen as a historical feature that tells a story — or as a barrier between the Eureka site and town-centre attractions. We’ve heard it called an eyesore. With a jocular twinkle in the eye, one HADRAG committee member recently dubbed it a “cast iron leviathan”. Arriving train passengers come out of the entrance and take in a true panorama of notable and some truly great structures—India Buildings, the Imperial Crown Hotel, Square Chapel and the Piece Hall both nearing transformed rebirth, the new Library, Industrial Museum, Halifax Minster.

But the existing bridge funnels people towards Horton Street, dreaded approach that fails to show our great town at its best.

Plans linked to town centre development should move rail-users’ parking to ground level and hopefully create a bus mini-interchange. Beyond that a masterplan hints at what might be done with the approach bridge removed to create an open “station gardens” with pedestrian as well as bus and car links radiating towards the wider attractions. A low-level station entrance could work well with restoration of Platform 3. A third platform would give more space for growing crowds of passengers. But the railway authorities seem to have been at best lukewarm towards the idea. The wider masterplan is truly transformational, potentially linking town and station with a regenerated area around the Nestlé site east of the railway.

The regenerated Piece Hall has potential to attract thousands of visitors to events and many of these could arrive by train. So station access must be adequate to deal with crowds potentially even larger than those of today’s commuters who fill the island platform.

Rail users’ needs foremost, HADRAG is committed to campaigning for retention of level pedestrian access between the bottom of Horton St and the footbridge that leads to platforms. (There is perhaps a small assumption here that the footbridge itself is adequate for future needs.) But does that have to mean keeping the existing road approach bridge? How about a new iconic pedestrian bridge linking to a station with both high and low level entrances. What we do not want to see is the station made less convenient for the large number of existing local train users who access the station on foot via the present bridge. We are actively engaging with Calderdale council officers and elected members to get the best solution for train users whilst putting the station at the heart of our town. —JSW

Adoption Group Wanted for Halifax Station

Northern’s franchise agreement requires them to develop community links. Former individual station adopters have been “let go” in favour of encouraging group adoption. This has caused some unhappiness with the former adopters who used to play a regular voluntary role reporting faults and issues. Moving on, however, Northern is understood to have a budget to work with local groups who would take initiatives to make their stations more attractive. Brighouse, Sowerby Bridge and Mytholmroyd undoubtedly show the way for others, involving local businesses in providing sponsorship for small projects, drawing in schools and community groups. It all helps to make our stations places where people want to go. And it should not be about volunteers taking on jobs (such as cleaning) that are properly done by rail staff or contractors. So what about Halifax? There may be less scope for gardening at our big-town station but more opportunity for other community-led improvements.

If you think you could help run such a group for Halifax station, we’d like to hear from you!