The line, which passes through the former mining areas to the east of Wakefield and Castleford, has the greatest number of stations opened by the West Yorkshire Metro. MetroCards are available on the route as far as Knottingley: a limited service of trains continues to Goole by this route.
The route
History
Railways in the area opened as follows:
1 April 1848:[1] the Wakefield, Pontefract and Goole Railway, 27 miles (43 km) in length, opened. This line passed through and served Knottingley, which was then producing some 65 000 tons of burnt lime a year, mainly used for agricultural and building purposes.
August 1850: Knottingley to Burton Salmon line opened. Trains were able to run from London to York via Knottingley, which was the station to change to and from trains into the heart of the West Riding, and so it became a major junction.
The Wakefield service joins the Leeds service at Pontefract; the station served for this section are:
Wakefield Westgate (also served by the Wakefield line): the station was jointly owned by GCR and GNR; to the south was the West Riding and Grimsby Joint Railway (also owned by those companies)