Wakefield Westgate railway station

Wakefield Westgate railway station is a mainline railway station in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It is 10 mi south of Leeds to the west of the city centre, on the Wakefield Line and Leeds branch of the East Coast Main Line.

The first Westgate station opened in 1856 a few years after the town's first station, Wakefield Kirkgate. In 1867, the station was rebuilt on the opposite side of Westgate on the main line between Leeds and Doncaster. British Rail modernised the station in 1967 when large parts of the 19th-century station were demolished and replaced with austere but functional facilities. By the 21st century, there was pressure to modernise the station and between 2009 and 2013 the station was rebuilt and modernised as a result of regeneration efforts focused upon the wider area. On 3 February 2014, the rebuilt station was officially opened.

Services
In total, there are 6 tph to Leeds with additional peak services. All northbound services call at Leeds.

The station is managed by London North Eastern Railway, whose services run south from platform 1 to Doncaster and stations to London King's Cross and north from platform 2 to Leeds. A half-hourly weekday service from Wakefield to London takes approximately just over 2 hours for the 175 mi journey.

CrossCountry operate train services north to Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow and services south to Birmingham New Street, Exeter and the South West of England. These call every hour with some additional peak services.

Northern operate stopping services between Leeds and Doncaster, calling every hour on weekdays and Saturdays. An hourly stopping service also operates from Sheffield to Leeds via Rotherham. Introduced at the May 2018 Timetable change, there is now another hourly service to Leeds. This train originates at Knottingley and runs via Pontefract Monkhill and Wakefield Kirkgate. This gives a 3tph Northern service to Leeds (of which, 2tph call at Outwood).

East Midlands Railway services from Leeds to London St Pancras via Derby or Nottingham call at Westgate. They are three early morning departures from Leeds and up to four late afternoon/evening return trips from St Pancras. This is because the maintenance depot for former Midland Mainline HST power cars is the Maintrain depot at Neville Hill in Leeds. This provides a limited but useful service between West Yorkshire and the East Midlands. The former operator Midland Mainline had plans for a regular service between St Pancras and Leeds via the Erewash Valley and Leicester but these ambitions were ultimately rejected by the Strategic Rail Authority.

Facilities
The station is manned and has an information kiosk, ticket office and self-service ticket machines, refreshments and a newsagent. Outside is a taxi rank, a cashpoint and a bus stop. Train running information is via digital display screens, timetable posters and automatic announcements. Lifts and a footbridge connect the platforms, so step-free access is available throughout the station.