The first Halifax station on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was opened in 1844. The main station, opened later, is approached from the north-east by a tunnel: it is located at the bottom of the town, which is hilly. From 1854 the Great Northern Railway had running powers to Halifax over the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Junction Railway. Both the L&YR and the GNR were concerned about the difficulty of carting goods to and from the higher-lying districts, as well as congestion at the station itself. The Ovenden valley, north-west of the town, was a significant source of traffic, and a branch line there would potentially assist.