Pontefract Tanshelf railway station

{{Short description|Railway station in West Yorkshire, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}

{{Use British English|date=May 2017}}

{{Infobox station

| name = Pontefract Tanshelf

| symbol_location = gb

| symbol = rail

| image = Pontefract Tanshelf stn.jpg

| caption = The view from platform 1, Class 156 DMU no. 156479 in old Arriva Trains Northern livery in August 2006

| borough = Pontefract, City of Wakefield

| country = England

| coordinates = {{coord|53.694|-1.319|type:railwaystation_region:GB_scale:10000|display=inline,title}}

| grid_name = Grid reference

| grid_position = {{gbmapscaled|SE450221|25|SE450221}}

| manager = Northern

| platforms = 2

| code = POT

| zone = 3

| classification = DfT category F2

| transit_authority = West Yorkshire Metro

| years = 17 July 1871

| events = Station opened as Tanshelf

| years1 = 1 December 1936

| events1 = Station renamed Pontefract Tanshelf

| years2 = 2 January 1967

| events2 = Station closed

| years3 = 11 May 1992

| events3 = Station reopened

| mpassengers =

{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2019/20 |passengers={{increase}} 53,538}}

{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2020/21 |passengers={{decrease}} 8,388}}

{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2021/22 |passengers={{increase}} 30,440}}

{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2022/23 |passengers={{increase}} 85,368}}

{{Rail pass box |pass_year=2023/24 |passengers={{increase}} 91,090}}

| footnotes = Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

}}

Pontefract Tanshelf railway station is the most central station in the market town of Pontefract in West Yorkshire, England, and serves Pontefract Races, the racecourse located just down the street from the station. It lies on the Pontefract Line operated by Northern and is {{convert|8|mi|km}} east of Wakefield Kirkgate.{{cite book |last1=Padgett |first1=David |title=Railway track diagrams, book 2; Eastern |date=2016 |publisher=Trackmaps |location=Frome |isbn=978-0-9549866-8-1 |edition=4}} In the days of coal mining in the Pontefract area, the station served the needs of the local workforce with regular and frequent services timed for the beginning and the end of mining shifts. The station is the closest to the former Prince of Wales Colliery which closed in August 2002.{{cite news |last1=Wainwright |first1=Martin |title=Britain's oldest mine closes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2002/aug/31/6 |access-date=13 July 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=31 August 2002}} The station serves Beechnut Lane, the home ground of Pontefract Collieries F.C.

The first station on the site was opened on 17 July 1871 as Tanshelf, being renamed Pontefract Tanshelf on 1 December 1936.{{cite web |last1=Quick |first1=Michael |title=Railway Passenger Stations in England, Scotland and Wales; a Chronology |url=https://rchs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Railway-Passenger-Stations-v5.01-2.pdf |website=rchs.org.uk |access-date=13 July 2020 |page=326 |date=2019}} It was closed on 2 January 1967,{{cite book |last1=Haigh |first1=AJ |title=Railways in West Yorkshire : Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield & the West Riding : an illustrated general history of the railways in the West Riding from the grouping to the present time |date=2012 |publisher=Xpress Publishing |isbn=978-1-901056-44-0 |page=77 |edition=2}} when the passenger services were diverted away from the direct line to Wakefield Kirkgate (via {{rws|Featherstone}}, to serve Leeds via Castleford.{{cite book |last1=Body |first1=Geoffrey |title=Railways of the Eastern Region |date=1989 |publisher=P. Stephens |location=Wellingborough |isbn=1-85260-072-1 |page=143}} The present station was opened by West Yorkshire Metro on 11 May 1992, when the line between {{rws|Wakefield Kirkgate}} and {{rws|Pontefract Monkhill}} was reopened.

The other stations in the town are Pontefract Monkhill and Pontefract Baghill.{{cite news |title=Pontefract Turf Account |work=The Northern Echo |date=13 March 2002 |page=3|issn=2043-0442}}

File:BR class 141 Pacer 141 113.jpg DMU no. 141113 in red/cream West Yorkshire Metro livery at Pontefract Tanshelf station in June 1996]]

File:British Rail Class 142s at Pontefract Tanshelf railway station (5th July 2019) 004.jpg and British Rail Class 150 in multiple coupled at Pontefract Tanshelf station in July 2019]]

Unlike Pontefract Monkhill, both platforms of Tanshelf are wheelchair-accessible.