The Calder Valley line (also previously known as the Caldervale line) is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool. It is the slower of the two main rail routes between Leeds and Manchester (the other being the Huddersfield line), and the northernmost of the three main trans-Pennine routes.
Services
Passenger train services are operated by Northern and run on the following pattern:
Bradford Interchange–Halifax– (Class 150 and occasionally Class 158 ) Leeds––Manchester Victoria–Wigan Wallgate (Class 158 and occasionally Class 195 Civity) Leeds–Halifax–Manchester Victoria– (Class 195 Civity) York–Leeds–Halifax–Preston–Blackpool North (Class 195 Civity) –Burnley––Manchester Victoria (Class 150 or 156) –Bradford Interchange–Leeds–Hull (Class 158)
This line, along with the Huddersfield line and York and Selby lines, was in the past combined in national timetables to show a coast-to-coast service but since May 2018 has been split again into separate routes for operational reasons and to improve service reliability. Through running to Chester (with a limited peak provision to via Helsby) began in May 2019.
Services within West Yorkshire are sponsored by West Yorkshire Metro, whose tickets (including Metrocards) can be used up to Hebden Bridge between Leeds and Blackpool, and Walsden between Leeds and Manchester.
Route
Before the 1923 Grouping the first section of the line (Leeds–Bradford) was owned by the Great Northern Railway (GNR); and the entire remainder by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR), apart from the final section of the branch leading into Huddersfield, which was owned by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR).
For the section between Halifax and Burnley the line uses the valley of the River Calder, which in fact comprises two separate valleys with rivers of the same name, that of West Yorkshire and the Lancashire River Calder thus giving the services their name; it also follows the Rochdale Canal from Todmorden into Manchester. Since the route crosses the Pennines, there are many tunnels to negotiate en route.
The British Railways Board's Corporate Plan for 1983–1988 marked the routes between Milner Royd Junction (east of Sowerby Bridge) and Bowling Junction (south of Bradford Interchange); and Milner Royd Junction and Heaton Lodge Junction (west of Mirfield) to be 'singled' on a list "The Proposed Elimination of Non-Essential Multiple Tracks". A combination of factors meant this was never implemented: the better gradients for freight than the Huddersfield trans-Pennine route; and the mid-1980s uncertainty over the Settle-Carlisle route meant that this became the preferred route for goods between Leeds and Preston/Carlisle.
Today, Hebden Bridge and Leeds are the only stations where every service calls, the route description follows.
Leeds–Bradford
For the initial section of the route between Leeds and Bradford, see Leeds–Bradford lines.
Bradford–Halifax
Many stations on this route have been closed. Stations currently open are in bold. Original places served, and notes on the route: Bowling was named Bowling Junction for its link with the GNR at this point here is Bowling Tunnel 1648 yd (1483m) Low Moor, also a junction with GNR. Closed in 1965 and reopened in April 2017. here was a triangular junction for the L&YR line to Dewsbury here are two tunnels: New Furnace Tunnel and Wyke Tunnel Wyke and Norwood Green here is Pickle Bridge junction for the Pickle Bridge Line to Huddersfield: now closed, there were two stations, Bailiff Bridge and Clifton Road Lightcliffe here is Lightcliffe Tunnel Hipperholme here is Beacon Hill Tunnel 1105 yd (995m) Halifax
On 24 October 1901, as the 6.10 pm down goods train from Low Moor to Leeds to was passing through Bowling Tunnel, the rear section broke loose. It came to a stop in the tunnel and was run into from behind by the 9.05 pm goods train from Low Moor to Laisterdyke. Wreckage partly blocking the up line was then hit by the 9:00 pm passenger train from Leeds to Manchester. Nobody was killed but there was extensive damage to rolling stock.