Not all Rowntrees workers arrived on bikes. Each morning a train from Selby via Riccall and Naburn to Rowntree Halt allowed the company to recruit from these villages along the East Coast Main Line. The following recollection is from Nick Beilby:
“The last passenger train ran to and from Rowntree Halt on July 8th 1988 and I was a passenger on those trains. The last train from York Station departed at 1625 and was formed of Derby Works and Metropolitan Cammell diesel multiple units 53601, 59565 and 53607. The train then returned to York where it terminated. Previously , the train would have continued to Selby.”
A connection to an internal loop line within the Rowntrees site gave access to the national rail network to a daily goods train from the factory.
The line, that branched off from the Scarborough line, also served the industries along the Foss as far as Rowntrees Wharf and connected with the Derwent Valley Light Railway. This is now the Foss Island Greenway.