The Pontefract Line has Parliamentary trains of just two trains per day (Monday to Saturday) to and : one in the early morning (07:42) and one in the evening (19:58). Only one train (the 17:58 from Leeds) runs in the opposite direction (the other early morning one runs empty from Leeds to take up its return working). The service was more frequent in the 1980s, but was reduced in 1991 (due to a DMU shortage) and again in 2004 (when the mid-day service was curtailed at Knottingley). It continues to run mainly so that the TOC meets its statutory franchise requirements and avoids the need for the line to be put through the formal closure process.