The first rail service into Bradford was opened by the Leeds and Bradford Railway on 1 July 1846. The line approached the townfrom 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 Derby 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 architectCharles 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 roof was dismantled in the 1960s and replaced with utilitarian 'butterfly' awnings. 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 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. Forster Square Station was truncated in 1990, when a new station was built on the western side of the former station. The new station has three platforms, two of which are able to accommodate intercity trains. The old station was later demolished and a shopping centre called 'Broadgate' was scheduled to be constructed on the site. That development was cancelled because of the early 1990s recession, and the area was used as a car park, but a new tax office was later built there. Part of the screen arcade that fronted the 1890 station, as well as the Midland Hotel, remains. In 2005, these became much more visible, when the city centre redevelopment began and Forster House was demolished. The line into Forster Square was electrified in 1994, as part of the electrification of the Airedale Line and Wharfedale Line, which allowed through electric trains to London via the newly electrified East Coast Main Line. More recently, the pedestrian approach from Cheapside has been redeveloped, and ticket barriers installed. Historically, services have been 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.
However, contemporary sources do not seem to use the name. The Bradford Post Office Directory says that the Midland terminal is at "Station, bottom of Kirkgate" or "Station, Forster Square" ; only in 1928 did a directory use the name "Forster Square Station".. Neither the map by Dixon & Hindle nor the 1906 OS map gives a name for the station other than 'Midland Station', but the latter names 'Exchange Station'. It seems likely that the original station was called simply 'Bradford', at least until the Lancashire & Yorkshire station opened, at Drake Street in 1850. After then, it would have been the Midland Station. Later, it apparently came to be called 'Bradford Market Street', but that does not appear to have been official. Bradshaw's July 1922 Railway Guide, in a timetable footnote, refers to Market Street and gives the distance to Exchange 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 on each route. 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, although direct services to both destinations sometimes operate if the Leeds route is closed for engineering work. 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 operate one service each way per day via Leeds and the East Coast Main Line to London King's Cross.
