Bradford Forster Square railway station
Bradford Forster Square railway station serves Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The majority of services to and from the station use and Class 331 electric multiple units operated by Northern Trains; they run on the Airedale line to, the Wharfedale line to and the Leeds–Bradford line to Leeds. The London North Eastern Railway LNER also run intercity trains from the station via the East Coast Main Line to London King's Cross.
The other main railway station in the city is Bradford Interchange, which is about 10 minutes on foot from Forster Square; from here, services operate along the Calder Valley line to Leeds, Halifax,,, and London King's Cross.
History
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 and Rugby.The first railway station building was an imposing neoclassical building designed by William Andrews. By 1853, the Midland Railway had acquired the Leeds and Bradford, and rebuilt the station. The new building was larger, but less interesting architecturally.
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, but local maps and directories do not confirm this.
By 1906, 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 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.
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, 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 took responsibility for those services.
Although the old Forster Square had become neglected by the late 1980s British Rail decided to transfer the Bradford to London King's Cross InterCity 125 service to the station with the first train running on 3 October 1988. Ideas were also mooted at this time on how best modernise the facilities and create a new gateway to the city. A subsequent plan emerged build a new station about 180m further north and redevelop the existing site as a shopping centre. This had a working title of 'Broadstones'. The plan was to have passengers walk past the shops to reach the relocated platforms with a daytime entrance incorporated into a new public square facing the city centre. The new truncated station opened on Monday 11 June 1990 with the old station being demolished shortly after. The new station was built with three platforms.
Due to the early 1990s recession the Broadstones shopping development was cancelled and only much later was The Broadway finally built to the south of Kirkgate in 2015. The cancellation of the Broadstones plan meant that the old station's goods entrance, to the side of the Midland Hotel, accidently became one of the key entranceways to the new station. This entrance is characterised by a long cobbled slope and archways supporting the road above. The old station site was initially used as a car park, before a HMRC tax office Centenary Court was built. Part of the front screen arcade and the supporting east wall of the 1890 station roof still survive.
The line into Forster Square was electrified in 1994, as part of the electrification of the Airedale and Wharfedale lines. This project also included lengthening the central platform numbered 1 and 2 to accommodate through electric trains to London via the newly electrified East Coast Main Line. More recently, the pedestrian approach from Cheapside has been redeveloped in to a public space and ticket barriers installed. A new platform platform 0 was completed to the east of the station in 2025. It was officially opened on 19 May 2025 when London North Eastern Railway introduced extra services. Further plans to modernise the station as a more impressive gateway to the city have been put on hold due to ongoing development work on the proposed West Yorkshire mass transit scheme.
Historically, there have been various proposals put forward which would link the two Bradford railway stations together, but none of these has yet materialised.
Over time, services have operated as follows:
Station name
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, it was 'Market Street' from the rebuilding in 1890 until 1924.
- Tony Dewick, 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.
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". In 1863 the location was "Midland Railway, Bottom of Kirkgate".
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 is at the bottom of Kirkgate." Again in 1908 and 1921 it was still the "Midland Station". By 1934 the station name had changed to "Forster Square Station ".
Services
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, and. 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 and ; a single early direct service to Lancaster at 06:41 runs from here since the May 2022 and May 2025 timetable changes, but there's no balancing return service.On Sundays, trains run hourly between Bradford and Leeds all day and to both Skipton and Ilkley. 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 and 2 – 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 per day via Leeds and the East Coast Main Line to London King's Cross. In January 2024, £24 million was allocated for a fourth platform at the station to allow more flexibility. LNER will subsequently be able to provide up to five services a day for Bradford's 2025 City of Culture events.