'We need more trains to balance family and work'

Emma Smith wants rail improvements to improve her work-life balance

Rail passengers travelling between Goole and Leeds want more direct regular train services so they can get to and from work, while also being able to get home for childcare.

Currently, there are only two direct trains from Goole to Leeds a day, with only one returning from Leeds at the end of the working day.

Goole rail users can get home by using a longer route through South Yorkshire and changing at Doncaster, but commuters from Snaith and Rawcliffe have no alternative trains.

Train operator Northern Rail said it welcomed East Riding of Yorkshire Council's plans to explore improved rail links. Council leader Anne Handley said the current situation was "criminal".

Passengers onboard the 07:42 from Goole to Leeds

For 36-year-old Emma Smith, getting from the East Yorkshire village of Snaith to work in West Yorkshire should be straightforward. There is a direct train line from Goole to Leeds, but only a handful of trains run on it.

Emma works in Leeds three days a week, and travels in on the 07:42 from Goole. She uses the only return rail service at 17:58. It means the mum-of-two normally gets home after 19:00, and has no flexibility should family emergencies arise at home.

"I've literally just dropped (my) two children with grandma, and now I'm travelling to Leeds. But if the school rang, it would have to be grandma going to pick them up, otherwise I'd have to get a train to somewhere like Knottingley or Selby and then get buses home."

Emma said she would like to see more regular services, which she believes would benefit East Yorkshire communities looking for jobs in West Yorkshire.

"There are loads of houses being built in Snaith and Eggborough, and they're saying they're commuter villages, but we've actually got no transport."

Klaudia Korpala says she struggles to pick her son up from nursery

Klaudia Korpala, 33, lives in Goole but is also travelling to Leeds for work. Unlike Emma, she can get back before the last direct train from Leeds. But it is not straightforward:

"I have to go via Doncaster, usually the trains are delayed or cancelled and I do have a problem to get my son from the nursery on time," she said.

Other travellers have similar complaints. Louise Hoskin, 23, is also travelling from Goole for her job.

She added: "I work in Castleford, and there's only one train in the morning and one train at night that's direct. I use this train service three times a week, so it's really, really limited."

Louise Hoskin wants direct regular services to Castleford

It is experiences like these that have led the council to launch a consultation into an improved Goole to Leeds rail service.

The study area includes Goole, Rawcliffe, Snaith, Hensall, Eggborough, Knottingley, Pontefract, Featherstone, Castleford and Normanton and will run until the end of October.

But with thousands of new homes being built locally, as well as new job oppportunities at Goole, Eggborough and Knottingley alongside Leeds and Castleford's existing work, retail and leisure offers, the council's leader believes improved connections to East Yorkshire are long overdue.

Conservative councillor Anne Handley wants fit-for-purpose train travel

Handley said: "We've got Siemens Rail in Goole, the largest train manufacturer in Europe and yet we can't get to Leeds. That is just criminal.

"It's 2025: The track's in place, it's ready to go. We just need the people of Goole, Snaith and Rawcliffe to fill in that survey and show the powers that be that we want a better rail service."

Handley said she would like to see services running every hour to strengthen links between West and East Yorkshire in the hope that as well as improving commuters' work-life balance, it will boost the wider Yorkshire economy.

A spokesperson for Northern Rail said: "We welcome East Riding Council's plans to explore improved rail links between Goole, Knottingley and Leeds.

"Northern have supported the development of the business case, and are happy to work with local partners on proposals that could strengthen regional connectivity and make rail a more convenient, sustainable choice for communities."

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