 The Great Northern Railway was authorised by Parliament in 1846, to build a railway line from London to York.Its promoters had hoped to be able to make a branch from Doncaster to Leeds, but that was refused by Parliament.Leeds and the surrounding district was a major centre of importance to the GNR, and to enable its trains to reach it, the GNR had to make agreements with other, competing, lines, and to run by a rather roundabout route via Knottingley and Methley.