Pontefract Tanshelf is the most central of the three railway stations that serve the market town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Pontefract Line, east of , with services operated by Northern Trains. It is the nearest station to Pontefract Racecourse and Beechnut Lane, the home ground of Pontefract Collieries FC.
History The first station on the site was opened on 17 July 1871 as Tanshelf, being renamed Pontefract Tanshelf on 1 December 1936.
In the days of coal mining in the Pontefract area, the station served the needs of the local workforce with regular and frequent services timed for the beginning and the end of mining shifts. The station is the closest to the former Prince of Wales Colliery which closed in August 2002.
It was closed on 2 January 1967, when the passenger services were diverted away from the direct line to Wakefield Kirkgate, via , to serve Leeds via .
The present station was opened by West Yorkshire Metro on 11 May 1992, when the line between and was reopened.
Both platforms of Tanshelf are step-free.
Services
On Monday to Saturday, there is an hourly service to Wakefield Kirkgate and , and also hourly to . On Sundays, there is a two-hourly service each way to the same destinations.
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