The line is used regularly by the freight companies GB Railfreight, Freightliner and DB Cargo UK that transport coal and limestone to Drax and remove the gypsum created by the flue-gas treatment equipment.

The list, announced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, includes signal boxes dating from late-Victorian times.

[3] Hensall station was also the site of a small collision in 1949 between a British Railways freight engine and a lorry after failure of a crossing keeper to acknowledge the train and brake van approaching, however it was argued that the signal man never gave the crossing the approaching train signal.

[5] The station is unstaffed and has only basic amenities, though the main buildings are still present (they are now privately owned and feature a number of heritage railway signs).

The remaining trains are operated primarily to meet Northern's franchise commitments and to avoid the need for both the station and the Knottingley to Goole line to be put through the formal closure process.