Apperley Bridge railway station

Apperley Bridge
Platform 1 (Leeds bound)
Location
Place	Apperley Bridge
Local authority	City of Bradford
Coordinates	53°50′29″N 1°42′11″W / 53.841380°N 1.703065°W / 53.841380; -1.703065Coordinates: 53°50′29″N 1°42′11″W / 53.841380°N 1.703065°W / 53.841380; -1.703065
Grid reference	SE196383
Operations
Station code	APY
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2015/16	96,418
History
Original company	Leeds and Bradford Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Late July 1846	Station opens as Apperley Bridge
1847	Station renamed Apperley
1 October 1890	Station renamed Apperley and Rawdon
May 1893	Station renamed Apperley Bridge and Rawdon
12 June 1961	Station renamed Apperley Bridge
20 March 1965	Station closed
13 December 2015	Station rebuilt and reopened
National Rail – UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Apperley Bridge from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Apperley Bridge station is situated in Bradford on the (Leeds and Bradford, later Midland) line between Leeds and Shipley, West Yorkshire, England. It serves the district of Apperley Bridge in the north-east of the city.

The station opened in 2015. A previous station with the same name was opened in a different location in 1846 but closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe.

The Leeds and Bradford Railway opened on 30 June 1846. At first, there were no intermediate stations. Temporary stations were provided, including Apperley Bridge, which opened some time during July 1846. A permanent structure followed about a year later. It comprised two platforms, partly covered by an overall roof. The main building ran parallel to the railway on the south side up at road level. A principal customer was Woodhouse Grove School, whose land had been crossed by the Railway. About 1849, the railway agreed to purchase gas from the school to light the station.

The Leeds and Bradford Railway was leased to the Midland Railway from just before its opening, an event of some importance in terms of railway politics. It contributed to the downfall of George Hudson and helped ensure that Bradford never had a through railway. It had previously been thought that the Leeds and Bradford might join with the Manchester & Leeds Railway.

The railway was widened to four tracks in about 1900, taking more land from Woodhouse Grove School, who used the money to build a swimming baths. The station was enlarged to four platforms, with a distinctive wooden building above at road level. The original station building was demolished when the cutting was widened to accommodate the new "fast lines" on the south side. Platform four, on the up slow line, remained the original of 1847 as there was not room to develop it. The other platforms, number 1 on the down fast line and numbers 2 and 3, the island between the up fast and down slow, were longer, wider and higher. Steps were needed to board trains on platform 4. There were canopies above all four platforms.