The station was opened by the North Eastern Railway on 1 August 1862. It was designed by the architect Thomas Prosser and was the first building in Harrogate built of brick and had two platforms. Before it opened, the town's rail routes had been somewhat fragmented – the York and North Midland Railway branch line from via Tadcaster had a terminus in the town, but the Leeds Northern Railway main line between Leeds and bypassed it to the east to avoid costly engineering work to cross the Crimple Valley and the East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway from terminated at. Once the individual companies had become part of the NER, the company concentrated all lines at a new single depot. A storm in November 1866 caused a chimney stack to fall through the station roof causing considerable damage. In 1873, a footbridge was added. The booking office was robbed on 7 December 1868 when thieves drilled through the ticket window covering with a bit and brace, and stole a small amount of cash. The station platforms were lengthened by 100 yards in 1883, largely as a result of the opening of a second route to Leeds via in 1876. In 1892, the actor, Harry Fischer, was shot at by Violet Gordon at the station. She missed and was arrested by the police. The station was largely demolished in 1964/65 and replaced with a more utilitarian one by Taylor Bown and Miller, Architects. A car park now occupies the site of the former bay platforms on the south side. It coincided with the loss of three of the main routes through the town in the Beeching Axe – both routes via Wetherby closed to passenger traffic on 6 January 1964 and the Leeds Northern route to via on 6 March 1967. The York branch was included in Beeching's 1963 report, but it was reprieved in 1966 and remains open. The original, attractive wrought iron footbridge remained until the mid 2000s when it was taken down and replaced by a modern plain steel one further down the platform. The station was serviced by a cafe called the 'Circle Bar' until its closure in the 1990s.
The station has a staffed ticket office open seven days a week, along with ticket machines. Facilities include a newsagent, key cutters, ATMs, a cafe, photo booths and a waiting room, all located on the main concourse on Platform 1. The station has three platforms, but only platforms 1 and 3 are in operation – platform 2 is not in public use. Full step-free access is available to both main platforms and they are linked by a footbridge with lifts. Ticket barriers were installed in early 2017.
Services
The Monday to Saturday daytime service is generally 3tph to Leeds ; with two calling at all stations and one limited stop and 2tph to Knaresborough on the Harrogate Line with an hourly service onwards to York also calling at all stations en route. 2tph operate to Leeds and Knaresborough on Sundays with one train per hour operating to/from York. Services increase in frequency at peak time to Leeds, resulting in 4tph with 1tph running fast to Horsforth. There are 4tph in the opposite direction between 16:29 and 18:00 from Leeds with one running fast from Horsforth to Harrogate. Evenings an hourly service operates from Leeds through Harrogate towards Knaresborough and York. London North Eastern Railway operates six daily services to and from London King's Cross on Mondays to Saturdays. These trains also provide a fourth hourly clockface service to Leeds every two hours.
Harrogate (Brunswick) station
Harrogate's first railway station, Brunswick, was the terminus of York and North Midland Railway's branch line and the first train arrived there on 20 July 1848. The station was situated on the site where Trinity Methodist Church now stands, close to the Prince of Wales roundabout and some distance from either High or Low Harrogate. When the new line of the North Eastern Railway entered Harrogate via a cutting through The Stray, Brunswick closed and the first train into the town centre station was on 1 August 1862.
The city was previously served by a railway station on the Leeds-Northallerton Line that ran between Leeds and Northallerton via Harrogate and Ripon. It was once part of the North Eastern Railway and then LNER. The site is now occupied by Starbeck railway station. The Ripon Line was closed to passengers on 6 March 1967 and to freight on 5 September 1969 as part of the wider Beeching Axe, despite a vigorous campaign by local campaigners, including the city's MP. Today much of the route of the line through the city is now a relief road and although the former station still stands, it is now surrounded by a new housing development. The issue remains a significant one in local politics and there are movements wanting to restore the line. Reports suggest the reopening of a line between Ripon and Harrogate railway station would be economically viable, costing £40 million and could initially attract 1,200 passengers a day, rising to 2,700. Campaigners call on MPs to restore Ripon railway link.
