Bradford Forster Square railway station

The first rail service into Bradford was opened by the Leeds and Bradford Railway on 1 July 1846. The line approached the town from the north, up Bradford Dale from Shipley, and terminated at a railway station on Kirkgate, opposite the end of Market Street. There were hourly services to Leeds Wellington Station, and through trains to London Euston via Derby and Rugby.^[1]

The first railway station building was an imposing neoclassical building designed by William Andrews.^[2] By 1853, the Midland Railway had acquired the Leeds and Bradford, and rebuilt the station. The new building was larger, but less interesting architecturally.^[2]

In 1890, the railway station was again replaced. The Midland Railway's architect Charles Trubshaw designed a large complex containing the passenger station, goods station and the Midland Hotel. The station had six platforms and an overall glazed roof of the ridge and furrow pattern. The station was also used by the North Eastern Railway. The station began to be called Market Street Station at this time,^[1] but local maps and directories do not confirm this (see Station name below).^[3]

By 1906,^[4] Forster Square had been built just south-east of the railway station, but the name Forster Square Station was not used until 1924.

In 1953-54 the station underwent £60,000 (equivalent to £2,116,100 in 2023)^[5] of improvements. The glass and steel canopy covering the station was removed and "umbrella type" covers were installed over each platform, leaving the rails clear.^[6]

In March 1963, the Beeching Report recommended the closure of all railways serving Wharfedale, and the removal of several services out of Forster Square. As a consequence, many railway stations closed in 1965, and local services to Leeds ceased. However, the decision to close was deferred for some of the lines. In 1972, Bradford Corporation (now City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council), together with several other local authorities in the area, determined to subsidise the Wharfedale and Airedale lines. The lines have remained open, and in the ensuing years, a number of stations have been reopened. From April 1974, the new West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (now known as Metro) took responsibility for those services.

Forster Square Station was truncated in 1990, when a new station was built on the western side of the former station. The new station has three platforms, two of which (platforms 1 &2) are able to accommodate intercity trains. The old station was later demolished and a shopping centre called 'Broadgate' was scheduled to be constructed on the site. That development was cancelled because of the early 1990s recession, and the area was used as a car park, but a new tax office was later built there. Part of the screen arcade that fronted the 1890 station, as well as the Midland Hotel, remains. In 2005, these became much more visible, when the city centre redevelopment began and Forster House was demolished.

The line into Forster Square was electrified in 1994, as part of the electrification of the Airedale and Wharfedale lines, which allowed through electric trains to London via the newly electrified East Coast Main Line. More recently, the pedestrian approach from Cheapside has been redeveloped, and ticket barriers installed.

Historically, services have been as follows:

There is some disagreement about what names were used and when. Most modern references state that at least one of them was called 'Market Street', but there is disagreement as to exactly when this name was in use:

• According to Alan Whitaker,^[1] it was 'Market Street' from the rebuilding in 1890 until 1924.
• Tony Dewick,^[14] p. 42, shows one of the three stations as 'Market Street' in red, which in that book indicates that the station and the name passed out of use before 1901.

W. E. Forster died in 1886 ^[15][16] and when the nearby Central Post Office opened in 1887, Forster Square, between the Railway Station and the Post Office, had recently been named.^[17]

Throughout the 19th century, contemporary directories and maps either used the railway company name or a nearby street to identify the station. In 1852 it was the "Leeds and Bradford Railway Station".^[18] In 1863 the location was "Midland Railway, Bottom of Kirkgate".^[19]

The date of the name change has not yet been identified. In 1901, it was "The Leeds and Bradford railway ... is leased by the Midland Railway Company, and its station (called the "Midland" station) is at the bottom of Kirkgate."^[20] Again in 1908^[21] and 1921^[22] it was still the "Midland Station". By 1934 the station name had changed to "Forster Square Station (L.M.S.R)."^[23]

Trains from Bradford Forster Square are operated by Northern Trains and London North Eastern Railway. Most trains are run by Northern; these are towards Leeds, Skipton and Ilkley. During Monday to Saturday daytimes, trains operate every 30 minutes to Leeds and hourly on the other two routes. On weekday and Saturday evenings there are trains every hour to each of Skipton and Ilkley, but no trains run through to Leeds; instead a shuttle service runs between Bradford and Shipley, connecting there with Skipton – Leeds trains. Connections are also available at Shipley for longer distance trains to Morecambe and Carlisle; a single early direct service to Carnforth at 06:41 runs from here since the May 2022 timetable change, but there's no balancing return service.

On Sundays, trains run hourly between Bradford and Leeds all day (until the end of service) and to both Skipton and Ilkley.^[24] The latter two routes were upgraded from two-hourly frequencies at the December 2017 timetable change.

During off-peak hours most trains use platforms 1 (for Skipton) and 2 (Leeds and Ilkley) – platform 3 is mainly used during weekday peak periods and in the evening, though a spare set is usually stabled here between 09.00 and 16.00 each weekday.

London North Eastern Railway operates two services each way (only one on Sundays) per day via Leeds and the East Coast Main LinetoLondon King's Cross.^[25] In January 2024, £24 million was allocated for a fourth platform at the station to allow LNER to provide seven services a day for Bradford's 2025 City of Culture event. The new platform is projected to be complete by the end of 2024.^[26]

• Firth, Gary (1997). A History of Bradford. Phillimore. ISBN 1-86077-057-6.
• Smith, F. W.; Bairstow, Martin. The Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway. Martin Bairstow. ISBN 1-871944-06-6.
• "Electrification chances to Bradford improve". RAIL. No. 100. EMAP National Publications. 13–26 July 1989. p. 8. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.

• Train times and station information for Bradford Forster Square railway station from National Rail