It's happening...
Santa is coming!!
Our popular Santa Special services are back for 2023.
Starting on Saturday 2nd December, and running each Saturday and Sunday until Christmas Eve (24th).
Advice for Passengers
Our station is in Moor Road in Hunslet, which is in South Leeds. To find it, set your Satnav for the postcode LS10 2JQ. Be aware that there is another Moor Road in Leeds, but this is in Headingley, and several miles away.
The site will open for passengers at 09:30 and will close at 17:00.
Please make every effort to arrive at least 20 minutes before your train is due to depart. The trains must run to time, and so they can not wait for you. If you miss your train we will do our best to make alternative arrangements for you, but we can not guarantee that this will be possible.
Please make allowances for possible delays from football matches at Elland Road, or from traffic congestion on the roads, and especially if you are having to travel across Leeds, or use any of the motorways.
Meeting Santa
Christmas magic will start the moment that you enter our festively decorated Engine House. You will be asked to follow the signs upstairs and through the lit walkway to the waiting area, where you will pick up your tickets and present vouchers from our Ticket Manager. Then at the appropriate time the Train Manager will take you out to the Santa Special waiting in the platform. On your journey to the park and back Santa will have a specially selected present for each member of his young audience.
When the train returns to Moor Road, please make your way through the decorated Display Hall where you can see Santa in his grotto, and then enjoy tea or coffee with mince pies for the adults, or juice and biscuits for the children.
Each child aged up to 10 years inclusive, for whom a fare has been paid, will be given a present by Santa whilst travelling on the train.
Babies aged 0 to 12 months, who do not require a seat or a present from Santa, travel free. For these trains children aged 11 years and above are treated as adults, and are not eligible for a present from Santa.
Our Santa Trains are very popular and so you are strongly advised to book in advance, and this is also cheaper. For Christmas Eve advance booking is essential, as tickets are not normally sold on the day. Details of how to book in advance are given below.
Please note that our Santa Special trains are not normal service trains, in that each ticket is valid only for one round trip on the specified train. This means that you must return from Park Halt on the same train; the option of getting off at Park Halt and returning on a later train is not available.
Because of limited space, we regret that the only animals we can permit on the Santa Trains are assistance dogs. During our normal operating season, from Easter to the end of October, dogs on leads are very welcome.
Trains will normally be hauled by a steam locomotive, but occasionally operating conditions (such as bad weather) may mean that a diesel locomotive has to be added to the rear of the train.
As these trains are operated primarily for children travelling with their families and friends, we ask all visitors to be sensitive with regard to photography, on or near the trains.
Also, ventilation is an important precaution against the possible spread of colds, flu or corona virus, and so we will be keeping windows open whenever practical. Please do wrap up warmly.
Train Times
The dates when trains will run, and the times at which they will run, are shown in this table.
|
Date
|
Service Departure Time
|
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saturday 2nd
(Online bookings now closed) |
10:00 (Q)
|
10:45
|
11:30
|
12:15
|
13:30
|
14:15
|
15:00
|
15:45
|
|
Sunday 3rd
(Online bookings now closed) |
10:00 (Q)
|
10:45
|
11:30
|
12:15
|
13:30
|
14:15
|
15:00
|
15:45
|
|
Saturday 9th
(Online bookings now closed) |
10:00 (Q)
|
10:45
|
11:30
|
12:15
|
13:30
|
14:15
|
15:00
|
15:45
|
|
Sunday 10th
(Online bookings now closed) |
10:00 (Q)
|
10:45
|
11:30
|
12:15
|
13:30
|
14:15
|
15:00
|
15:45
|
|
Saturday 16th
(Online bookings now closed) |
10:00
|
10:45
|
11:30
|
12:15
|
13:30
|
14:15
|
15:00
|
15:45
|
|
Sunday 17th
(Online bookings now closed) |
10:00
|
10:45
|
11:30
|
12:15
|
13:30
|
14:15
|
15:00
|
15:45
|
|
Saturday 23rd
(Online bookings now closed) |
10:00
|
10:45
|
11:30
|
12:15
|
13:30
|
14:15
|
15:00
|
15:45
|
|
Sunday 24th
(Online bookings now closed) |
10:00
|
10:45
|
11:30
|
12:15
|
13:30
|
14:15
|
15:00
|
15:45
|
Notes:
If a service time is highlighted in YELLOW, (yellow) then there are a very limited number of seats available.
If a service time is highlighted in RED, (red) then that service is SOLD OUT – please call our Santa Hotline on 07376 744 799 (Monday to Friday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm only) and there may be some short-notice cancellation spaces available.
If a service time is highlighted in BLUE, it indicates that the service is in the past.
(Last updated 26-12-23 @ 07:30)
Quiet Coach
As shown in the table above marked (Q), the 10.00 train on each of the following days will contain a “Quiet Coach”:
- Saturday 2nd December;
- Sunday 3rd December;
- Saturday 9th December; and
- Sunday 10th December.
This means that there will be fewer people on the the coach for people with disabilities, as well as a lower volume for those with auditory anxiety issues.
If you wish to be seated in the Quiet Coach, please add the request into the notes field when booking your tickets.
Fares
Please note that concessionary fare offers, members’ free tickets, complimentary tickets, HRA passes and other passes are not valid for Santa Express services. The only exception to this is free travel for a carer accompanying a fare-paying passenger. Please telephone for further details of this.
Booked in advance
Children (0 to 12 months, with no present and no seat): FREE.
Child (0 to 2 years inclusive, with a present from Santa): £11 (£12.00 for 24th December)
Child (3 to 10 years inclusive, with a present from Santa): £16 (£17 for 24th December)
Young Person (11 to 15 inclusive, with no present from Santa): £7.50 (£8.50 for 24th December)
Adult: £13 (£14 for 24th December)
Notes: There are no additional charges for booking in advance.
Pre-booking is mandatory for Christmas Eve Trains (24th December)
Booked on day of travel
Children (0 to 12 months, with no present and no seat): FREE.
Child (0 to 2 years inclusive, with a present from Santa): £12
Child (3 to 10 years inclusive, with a present from Santa): £17
Young Person (11 to 15 inclusive, with no present from Santa): £8.50
Adult: £14
Note: There are no walk-up tickets available on Christmas Eve journeys
How to book
Online
We can take online bookings through a separate booking site, provided for us by Wilson Digital Media Ltd. There is no additional charge for online bookings.
Tickets cannot be booked online after 02:00 on the Thursday before the train runs.
Note 1: the booking site will open in a new browser tab or window.
Note 2: if the train for which you wish to book is shown on the booking site as either “SOLD OUT” or “Limited Seats” then you may not be able to book online, and will need to book either by telephone or in person, as described below.
Note 3: for online orders, the number of tickets for one booking is limited to 10, and so if you are wanting to book for a large party it will probably be better to do this by telephone or in person, as described below.
When you make an online booking you will receive an email message confirming your booking, and giving you a unique booking reference number. Please make a careful record of this, and then bring it with you to the Ticket Desk on your day of travel, and it will be used to issue you with your tickets. If you do not receive such a message, please check your email spam folders!
Telephone
Please note that when booking in advance by telephone, tickets must be paid for at the time of booking.
We accept most major credit and debit cards (except American Express & Diners Card), so please call our Santa Hotline on 07376 744 799 (Monday to Friday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm only, please) and let us know what you wish to book.
Once your booking has been made you will be given a unique booking reference number, and you need to keep a note of this, bring it to the Ticket Desk on your day of travel and it will be exchanged for your tickets and present vouchers. Also, you will be given your payment card transaction receipt.
Please note that, apart from the online booking facility, we do NOT use any ticketing agencies for booking these trains, and because we are all volunteers there may be times when you get an answering service for a call to our Santa Hotline. If this happens then please state your name and number twice, speaking slowly and clearly, and we will get back to you as soon as possible (usually on the same day, but we can not guarantee this).
In Person
You may book your tickets in advance at our Moor Road Ticket Office, at any time when the railway is open and running trains. Note, though, that during November we will be closed in order to prepare for the Santa Express trains, and so you will have to book either online or by telephone. Most major credit and debit cards are accepted (except American Express & Diners Card), as well as cash or cheques.
A copy of our 2023 Santa leaflet / booking form can be downloaded here.
Terms and Conditions
Please click here to see the terms and conditions that apply to the Santa Special trains. This page will open in a new tab or window in your browser,