Station
Bingley

Bingley railway station serves the town of Bingley in West Yorkshire and is 13.5 miles away from Leeds and 5.5 miles away from Bradford Forster Square on the Airedale Line operated by Northern Rail.

The Leeds and Bradford Railway opened the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway from Shipley to Keighley on 16 March 1847. Bingley station opened on the first day, and remained the only intermediate station until Saltaire was built in 1856. The original station, near the Three Rise Lock, was of wood, but the Midland Railway (who had absorbed the L&BR in 1851) opened the current station on 24 July 1892.

Bingley was probably founded about the time of the Saxons; certainly its name is Saxon in origin, meaning ‘Bing’s clearing’, though this would not be the original spelling or pronunciation of Bing. Bingley is thought to have been founded around a ford on the River Aire. This crossing gave access to the villages of Harden, Cullingworth and Wilsden on the south side of the river. As well as the ford on the river, the other feature likely to have influenced Bing’s decision and to foster Bingley’s growth is the constriction of the Aire valley at the upstream side of the Bingley settlement.

Like most towns of the West Riding, Bingley prospered from the Industrial Revolution. The Bingley section of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was completed in 1774, linking Bingley with Skipton, and with Bradford via the Bradford Canal. It travels through the centre of Bingley & then climbs dramatically up the side of the valley in the famous Bingley Five Rise Locks and not quite so famous Bingley Three Rise Locks. Several Woollen mills were founded and people migrated in from the surrounding countryside to work in the mills. Many came from further afield such as Ireland, especially in the wake of the Irish Potato Famine. A railway line was constructed through Bingley including a goods yard in the centre of Bingley bringing further trade. The Beeching Axe demolished the goods yard, though the station which recently celebrated its centenary, still serves trains to Leeds, Bradford, Skipton, Morecambe and Carlisle.

Address

Bingley Station
Wellington Street
Bingley
West Yorks
BD16 2NA

Grid Reference

SE 108391 – for a map visit www.streetmap.co.uk and enter the grid reference.

Operator

Northern (DOHL)

Facilities

+  Staffed station
+  Booking Office open Mon – Sat 06.10 – 19.00 Sun closed
+  Ramped access to all platforms
+  Cycle storage available
+  Waiting rooms
+  Additional seating on platforms
+  CCTV
+  Telephone and post box
+  Car park – 22 spaces including accessible

Other Information

+  Rail User Group – Aire Valley Rail User Group
+  Friends of Station Group – contact communityraillancashire.crl@gmail.com for details.
+  Close to Leeds Liverpool Canal and Bingley Five Rise Locks
+  Close (7 miles) to Leeds Bradford Airport
+  Renownedtheatre – Bingley Little Theatre
+  Annual live music event – Bingley Music Live
+  Buses close to station operated by Keighley & District (662, 760 & 727/9)