# Baildon railway station

Baildon railway station serves the town of Baildon near Shipley in West Yorkshire, England. The station reopened under British Rail on 5 January 1973, by the Chairman of Baildon Council, Arnold Lightowler, having been closed for exactly 20 years. It is situated 4 miles (6 km) north of Bradford Forster Square, on the Wharfedale Line. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Northern Trains.

## History

Opened by the Midland Railway in December 1876, the station became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, and then passed to the North Eastern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. It was then closed by the British Transport Commission as an economy measure in January 1953, though it briefly reopened for three months in 1957 due to a petrol shortage during the Suez Crisis. The goods yard had a single road shed, and two loading docks, being located on the west side of the station. The station is recorded as having a steam crane that could handle loads of just over 1-tonne (1.1-ton). Goods traffic at the station ceased in April 1964, and the goods yard site is now the location of a housing estate.
The line remained open, and in January 1973, Bradford Corporation re-opened the station to rail traffic, a year before the WYPTE would be created and who would re-open stations across Yorkshire in the 1970s, and 80s. Baildon Urban District Council contributed the whole cost of re-opening the station, which was set at £2,500 (equivalent to £42,000 in 2023), largely because the platforms at Baildon were still in-situ and usable.

## Services

During Monday to Saturday daytimes, in the evening and all day on Sundays there is an hourly service to Bradford Forster Square and Ilkley. This increases to every thirty minutes at peak times.
Unlike other stations on the Wharfedale and Airedale lines, Baildon has no direct service to Leeds owing to its position on the curve between the two lines. Passengers must instead change at Shipley or Guiseley (Shipley having more services) to access Leeds.

## The site today

In February 1983, the line was reduced to single track, so there is only one platform, and the station building has been sold. The station building is architecturally similar to the smaller stations on the Settle Carlisle Line, as it was built in the same era as the Settle line. The track remains in place on the former eastbound line (towards Guiseley). The second platform is disused and covered in weeds. The station is located 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Bradford Forster Square, and 2 miles 79 chains (4.8 km) south-west of Guiseley railway station. Electrification of the line was authorised in the 1990s and completed in 1995.
The station is unstaffed, but a ticket machine is now available. Tickets must be purchased from the machine or on the train with a Promise To Pay Notice from the same machine. A long-line PA system and digital display screens provide train running information. Step-free access is provided from the car park and main entrance to the platform.
Since February 2024 the station has been closed with no services using the curve of line between Shipley and Guiseley via Baildon due to a landslip nearby. Services were predicted unlikely to resume until June 2024, despite an initial Network Rail estimate of a six-week closure. In March 2024 it was announced that the residents of two homes atop the railway embankment subject to the landslip would have to leave their homes as they are no longer structurally sound. As of the 30th of June 2024, the line has been reopened to revenue service.