Morley Closure and Cottingley Question

[Crossover]

Just been through Morley station and there's a sign on the station shelter about a 12 week closure. I couldn't read any more than that and can't seem to find much online from a quick look, so what is going on there?

Also, has Cottingley been extended or am I being dozey?

 

[YorkshireRider]

The car park is closing for 12 weeks, not the station, think its for resurfacing and a new drainage system to be put in. There was some recent work done at Cottingley on a (new?) footbridge, not sure if they extended the platforms as well though.

 

[Grumpy]

Do better closing the station permanently and opening another at the White Rose Centre

 

[Crossover]

The car park is closing for 12 weeks, not the station, think its for resurfacing and a new drainage system to be put in. There was some recent work done at Cottingley on a (new?) footbridge, not sure if they extended the platforms as well though.

Thanks for the info about Morley station.

Cottingley does have a new footbridge, but one bit of platform is different to the rest and has steps rather than ramp at the end. Given I now it wasn't able to take a 185 during disruption, I wondered if they'd lengthened it...but I may be wrong

Do better closing the station permanently and opening another at the White Rose Centre

I'd be inclined to agree that the White Rose is a complete missed opportunity in terms of rail provision, but that discussion is probably for another time

 

[YorkshireRider]

Thanks for the info about Morley station.

Cottingley does have a new footbridge, but one bit of platform is different to the rest and has steps rather than ramp at the end. Given I now it wasn't able to take a 185 during disruption, I wondered if they'd lengthened it...but I may be wrong



I'd be inclined to agree that the White Rose is a complete missed opportunity in terms of rail provision, but that discussion is probably for another time

I also thought that they may have sorted the platforms to be able to fit 185s on but im not sure tbh.
While I agree the white rose is a missed opportunity, im not sure closing Morley or Cottingley would benifit anyone. The nearest line to the White Rose centre is the Leeds-Wakefield line anyway, not the Huddersfield line

 

[sevenhills]

I also thought that they may have sorted the platforms to be able to fit 185s on but im not sure tbh.

Not heard anything; the notice says resurfacing, improve drainage, new access footpath, better lighting, new bridge (about 100yds up the line I think) and slightly larger car park.
I have searched online and I cannot find anymore info, and I dont think the notice has been there very long

 

[YorkshireRider]

Not heard anything; the notice says resurfacing, improve drainage, new access footpath, better lighting, new bridge (about 100yds up the line I think) and slightly larger car park.
I have searched online and I cannot find anymore info, and I dont think the notice has been there very long

Thanks for the info sevenhills

 

[Grumpy]

The nearest line to the White Rose centre is the Leeds-Wakefield line anyway, not the Huddersfield line

The Wakefield line is further away and also has two very busy roads between it and the WRC

The Huddersfield line borders the WRC car park and is closer to the office park that would be a big traffic generator.

A halt at the WRC is the biggest potential commercial opportunity for the railway in the North of England, yet they're messing about lengthening platforms at nothing places. Madness.

 

[Ploughman]

I also thought that they may have sorted the platforms to be able to fit 185s on but im not sure tbh.
While I agree the white rose is a missed opportunity, im not sure closing Morley or Cottingley would benifit anyone. The nearest line to the White Rose centre is the Leeds-Wakefield line anyway, not the Huddersfield line

I would beg to differ.
The Huddersfield line runs behind the back fence of the White Rose centre.
The Wakefield line is across the other side of the A653
Take a look at Google maps.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

How much local rail travel is generated at Cottingley railway station from the local housing estate ?

 

[bluenoxid]

How much local rail travel is generated at Cottingley railway station from the local housing estate ?

90,000 journeys generated annually for Cottingley.

I would be interested to see what the potential would be for moving it to just to the south of the A643 overbridge with a Manchester Airport style connection to WRC.

Reminds me of a story. A van full of lads arrived in Cottingley looking to do work on the local railway station. They drove up and down the main street but could not find any signs to the local railway station, so they hopped up the road to the nearest railway station and asked for directions to Cottingley Railway Station.

"Other side of Bradford lads"

They had got the wrong Cottingley.

 

[Crossforth]

I'd be inclined to agree that the White Rose is a complete missed opportunity in terms of rail provision, but that discussion is probably for another time

I'm afraid to say that the opportunity, of what I can gather from work, was missed by WRC as they didn't want to pay to have a station put in as they believed too many people would park there and take the train to Leeds and not use the centre. So NR/WYPTE/whoever else was involved said they weren't paying for all of the build so they said forget it.

If they did build a station though, it would give us a better access point to the line rather than the current one of climbing over the wall :/

 

[Grumpy]

I'm afraid to say that the opportunity, of what I can gather from work, was missed by WRC as they didn't want to pay to have a station put in as they believed too many people would park there and take the train to Leeds and not use the centre. So NR/WYPTE/whoever else was involved said they weren't paying for all of the build so they said forget it.

:/

WRC keep adding bits on-I believe a cinema is coming soon. The Council should make it a planning condition that they have to provide platforms before any further extensions. The road network nearby is overcrowded.

People parking and catching the train doesn't seem to be an issue at Meadowhell. Having a station would reduce parking needs as some people currently using cars would use the train. A station would also attract custom for them-I was on a Nottingham-Leeds train recently when a group of women got on and bought tickets from Langley Mill to Meadowhell

 

[JohnB57]

WRC keep adding bits on-I believe a cinema is coming soon. The Council should make it a planning condition that they have to provide platforms before any further extensions. The road network nearby is overcrowded.

People parking and catching the train doesn't seem to be an issue at Meadowhell. Having a station would reduce parking needs as some people currently using cars would use the train. A station would also attract custom for them-I was on a Nottingham-Leeds train recently when a group of women got on and bought tickets from Langley Mill to Meadowhell

You can't compare the WRC with Meadowhall. People travel from a huge radius to Meadowhall - I used to work in Leicester and it was common for people to travel up from there regularly. The WRC is far more Leeds-centric. My daughter works there and her customer base is from maybe a 10 mile radius.

Also, the Huddersfield line has limited possibilities, certainly for direct services. You wouldn't choose to take the train in from, say, the Wakefield or Bradford areas.

A station at the WRC is a nice idea, but in my view it's in the wrong place with the wrong demographic.

 

[Grumpy]

You can't compare the WRC with Meadowhall. People travel from a huge radius to Meadowhall - I used to work in Leicester and it was common for people to travel up from there regularly. The WRC is far more Leeds-centric. My daughter works there and her customer base is from maybe a 10 mile radius.

Also, the Huddersfield line has limited possibilities, certainly for direct services. You wouldn't choose to take the train in from, say, the Wakefield or Bradford areas.

I appreciate what you are saying and accept that the demand for WRC is never going to be as big as MH. No-one from Leicester is going to drive past MH to the WRC

However we live nearly 20 miles away and my wife and her friends living similar distances away visit several times a year. I have a neighbour who commutes to the adjacent office park, has a hellish drive each day and would willingly catch the train even if it meant a change in Leeds. The Huddersfield trains dont have to terminate at Leeds-they could be cross-linked with stoppers from other lines into Leeds.

The WRC has 13 million visitors pa and approx 4 thousand employees. The adjacent office park employs a few thousand more. Surely it's defeatist to think the railway couldn't make something out of that

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The car park is closing for 12 weeks, not the station, think its for resurfacing and a new drainage system to be put in. There was some recent work done at Cottingley on a (new?) footbridge, not sure if they extended the platforms as well though.

What alternative car parking facilities will be locally available for the "park and ride" rail users during this 12-week period?

 

[sevenhills]

What alternative car parking facilities will be locally available for the "park and ride" rail users during this 12-week period?

There is Station Rd, it gets used now, not sure how far up the road the cars park. That is why they are adding more spaces to the car park, but it still is unlikely to be big enough.

 

[JohnB57]

I appreciate what you are saying and accept that the demand for WRC is never going to be as big as MH. No-one from Leicester is going to drive past MH to the WRC

However we live nearly 20 miles away and my wife and her friends living similar distances away visit several times a year. I have a neighbour who commutes to the adjacent office park, has a hellish drive each day and would willingly catch the train even if it meant a change in Leeds. The Huddersfield trains dont have to terminate at Leeds-they could be cross-linked with stoppers from other lines into Leeds.

The WRC has 13 million visitors pa and approx 4 thousand employees. The adjacent office park employs a few thousand more. Surely it's defeatist to think the railway couldn't make something out of that

I agree with all your points. Except that I still have this niggling doubt that out of town shopping centres are primarily designed for car users and if a railway station stimulated patronage for the centre, it would be at the expense of local towns and city centres, that frankly deserve the business more.

 

[Waverley125]

there hasn't been a station built at the WRC, for all the reasons outlined above.

However, there has been some chat of Morley/Tingley/Beeston/Middleton being the 'target area' for any big expansion of housing as may be proposed under this, or the next, Government. AFAIK the idea would be to 'fill in' the gap between the M62, M621 and Middleton with housing, for which the WRC would be the hub.

A station would, at that point, become very useful. Especially if a second access road to the WRC were built from Victoria Road, on the way into Morley.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

there hasn't been a station built at the WRC, for all the reasons outlined above.

Just look at the numbers who use the Trafford Centre in the Greater Manchester region and the size of the car parks provided there. It has easy access to the M60 circular motorway system that rings the hub of this area.

Whilst the Manchester Metrolink system is still in a state of expansion with no less than four lines currently under construction, the "hoped-for" line to the Trafford Centre still remains just a drawing on a sheet of paper in the TfGM planning department.

 

[JohnB57]

A station would, at that point, become very useful. Especially if a second access road to the WRC were built from Victoria Road, on the way into Morley.

Victoria Road isn't anywhere near the White Rose. You don't mean Albert Road do you?

 

[Grumpy]

Just look at the numbers who use the Trafford Centre in the Greater Manchester region and the size of the car parks provided there. It has easy access to the M60 circular motorway system that rings the hub of this area.

Whilst the Manchester Metrolink system is still in a state of expansion with no less than four lines currently under construction, the "hoped-for" line to the Trafford Centre still remains just a drawing on a sheet of paper in the TfGM planning department.

I dont see that this is relevant. Trafford Centre would involve the capital costs of a new line and the ongoing costs of running extra services. A simple halt at WRC with no additional services needed would be a totally different proposition in terms if risk and finance .

I accept such centres are focussed on the motorist-their major attractions are easy parking, plenty of it and no restrictions or traffic wardens.

However the bus operators also see them as profitable opportunities so run services to them and they tend to turn into mini public transport hubs. The provision of Rail access to Meadowhall and Metro Centre seems to have been worthwhile

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I dont see that this is relevant. Trafford Centre would involve the capital costs of a new line and the ongoing costs of running extra services. A simple halt at WRC with no additional services needed would be a totally different proposition in terms if risk and finance .

The relevence occurs as despite the obvious fast running that a Metrolink service would aid visitors using the Trafford Centre in the 21st century, these extremely large major out-of-town retail entities are reflective of the thinking when new roads were seen as the panacea to all transport ills by those in the Department of Transport who had such close ties to the companies involved in motorway and new road construction, aided by the Government thinking on transport at that time.

 

[sevenhills]

A station would, at that point, become very useful. Especially if a second access road to the WRC were built from Victoria Road, on the way into Morley.

The planned new housing close to Morley station has got the go ahead; but the footpath close to the station, that could have been turned into a thru road remains a footpath.
So Morley train station will remain in a cul-de-sac, so a bus link road is less likely.

 

[34D]

The planned new housing close to Morley station has got the go ahead; but the footpath close to the station, that could have been turned into a thru road remains a footpath.
So Morley train station will remain in a cul-de-sac, so a bus link road is less likely.

Yes. It is a shame that there is to be no such provision at Morley.

I agree that the White Rose would benefit from a station

 

[sevenhills]

There were no trains for a time today, there was a replacement bus service. There was a large workers cabin parked down there too, and some vans blocked Station Road because they did not leave enough room for a large vehicle to pass.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/229841590470405/

 

[Crossover]

I'm not sure there were trains running on the line at all today. I came back from the Midlands and left the car at Wakefield Westgate for our return.

Driving home, I went over the bridge over Ravensthorpe station, to find a rail vehicle (the road with rail wheels that can be deployed) giving way to me, which left once I had passed