Barnsley Interchange is a combined railway and bus station in the centre of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England. It was first opened in 1850 as Barnsley Exchange station and is 16 miles (26 km) north of Sheffield. It lies on both the Hallam and Penistone Lines, operated by Northern Trains. On 20 May 2007, the newly-named Barnsley Interchange was opened officially by the Secretary of State for Transport, Douglas Alexander MP.
History
The Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield, Huddersfield & Goole Railway was formed in 1846 with the aim of providing access to South Yorkshire’s coalfields. It was to link the Manchester and Leeds Railway (M&LR) near Horbury, with the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway near Brightside, by way of Barnsley. Whilst the railway was still at the planning stage, it was split in two at Barnsley: the northern portion being leased to the M&LR and the southern to the South Yorkshire, Doncaster & Goole Railway (SYD&G). The northern section opened first and Barnsley station was opened with the line on 1 January 1850. The route of the southern section was changed and is connected instead to the SYD&G line near Mexborough. This section opened on 1 July 1851 and Barnsley then became a through station, although the two sections of line were operated by different railways.
On 1 July 1854, the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) opened a line from Penistone to Barnsley.[1][2][3]
Each of these railway companies went through various takeovers and amalgamations. By the early 20th century, Barnsley station was co-owned by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR, successor to the M&LR) and the Great Central Railway (GCR, successor to the MS&LR and SYD&G). At the 1923 grouping, the GCR became part of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), whilst the LYR formed part of the new London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), as did the Midland Railway (MR). The LYR and MR each contributed one station in Barnsley to the LMS and, since the ex-MR station was already distinguished as Barnsley Court House, the LMS renamed the former LYR station to Barnsley Low Town on 2 June 1924. Just two months later, on 1 August 1924, it was again renamed, this time to Barnsley Exchange.[3]
Barnsley Court House station closed on 19 April 1960, following the commissioning of a new chord line south of the town near Quarry Junction that linked the former SYR route down the Blackburn Valley with the ex-MR line from Sheffield Midland, allowing services on the latter route to serve the station (and continue northwards to Wakefield and Leeds). Subsequently, on 13 June 1960, Barnsley Exchange was renamed Barnsley.[3]. At this time, a second platform (no. 2) was added.
The station was rebuilt and extended in 1992;[4] then, in 2007, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive integrated the railway station with the bus station, hence the name change to Interchange. The redesign won a Civic Building award.[5]
In May 1999, Midland Mainline commenced a daily weekday service to London St Pancras.[6][7] The service was withdrawn by East Midlands Trains on 5 September 2008.[8]
Facilities
The station is fully staffed throughout the day, with the booking office open from 06:00 to 19:30 Mondays to Saturdays, and from 08:45 to 19:00 on Sundays. There are several self-service ticket machines provided, located on the platform 2 footbridge and outside the ticket office.[9]
In the main building on platform 1, there is a waiting room and toilets. A separate waiting room (with vending machines) is located on platform 2, with a fully accessible footbridge (equipped with lifts) linking them; there is step-free access from the entrance and bus station to all platforms. Train running information is provided by automated announcements, digital display screens and timetable posters.[9]
Services
Railway
Northern Trains operates the following off-peak services, in trains per hour (tph):[10]
Hallam line:
- 3 tph to Leeds; of which:
- 2 tph are express services, calling only at Wakefield Kirkgate
- 1 tph is an all-stations service, via Castleford
- 3 tph to Sheffield; of which:
- 1 tph continues to Nottingham
- 1 tph continues to Lincoln.
Penistone line:
- 1 tph to Huddersfield
- 1 tph to Sheffield.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Trains | ||||
| Northern Trains | ||||
| Northern Trains Leeds-Nottingham | ||||
| Northern Trains Leeds-Lincoln | ||||
| Future Services | ||||
| Meadowhall | Northern Connect Leeds – Lincoln |
Wakefield Kirkgate | ||
Buses
The bus station features the latest in technology, such as the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive scheme of Your Next Bus, tracking buses with GPS to check what time they are due to arrive and depart. Several shops occupy retail units within the interchange, including Lloyd’s Pharmacy, GT News, Cowpuccino Espresso Bar, Cooplands and a Subway.
Work has since been completed on the link road, Schwäbisch Gmünd Way (formerly Interchange Way), which was renamed in honour of Barnsley’s twin town in Germany. This enables buses to enter or leave the Interchange quickly, without having to use the busy level crossing at Jumble Lane.
As of April 2026, the stand allocation is:[11][12]
In popular culture
In 2013, the interchange was used as a filming location in Channel 4‘s cult drama series Utopia.[13]
References
- ^ Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, volume 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 214–5, 217–8. ISBN 0-7153-4352-1.
- ^ Dow, George (1959). Great Central, Volume One: The Progenitors, 1813-1863. Shepperton: Ian Allan. pp. 150, 228. ISBN 0-7110-1468-X.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ a b c Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 28. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ^ https://www.flickr.com/photos/tractionart/8131601223/in/photolist-2k5gCEk-doyuyT-doyzK6
- ^ “Barnsley Interchange wins Civic Building award”. Jeffersons Heard. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ “MML serves six new stations”. Rail. No. 355. 21 April 1999. p. 10.
- ^ “Barnsley-London direct”. Rail Express. No. 36. May 1999. p. 8.
- ^ “End of the line for Barnsley-London service”. Today’s Railways UK. No. 83. November 2008. p. 14.
- ^ a b “Barnsley Interchange (BNY)”. National Rail. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ “Train Timetables”. Northern Railway. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ “Barnsley Interchange Map and Stand Locations”. Travelsouthyorkshire.com. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ “Barnsley Town centre bus services”. Bustimes.org. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ “Where Was Utopia Series 2 filmed? Our Production Services Team Have The Answers…” Creative England. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019.
External links
- Train times and station information for Barnsley Interchange from National Rail
- Travel South Yorkshire website Archived 17 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
