All aboard as first trains in 50 years pull into Apperley Bridge station

Trains have stopped at the village of Apperley Bridge for the first time in 50 years after the opening of a new £8 million railway station.
Apperley Bridge station has now opened to the public.Apperley Bridge station has now opened to the public.
Apperley Bridge station has now opened to the public.

And today has seen the first commuters use the station after it was officially opened yesterday.

From now on, two trains per hour, between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square or Skipton, will call at Apperley Bridge in each direction Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sundays.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bradford councillors granted permission for the new station - which includes a 297-space car park - back in 2010 with final approval given by the Department of Transport (DfT) in 2014.

An original estimated completion date of August this year was later pushed back until the autumn. The station also includes a drop-off point, fully-accessible platforms with both staircases and ramps, secure cycle parking and waiting shelters.

The original station closed 50 years ago as part of cuts made as part of the 1963 Beeching report, which recommended taking an axe to a third of the rail network.

One passenger on the first train from the station brought with him the original station sign from five decades ago.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When the opening date was confirmed, Keith Wakefield, Chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: “Regular services between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square will provide people with links to work and leisure opportunities in the two city centres.

“The new station will also reduce existing congestion and improve journey reliability on a key corridor and electric train links replacing car journeys will help reduce harmful emissions.”

Val Slater, Bradford council deputy leader, said: “Extra public transport links make a vital contribution to the economy of the region and improvements to the environment.

“Commuters in Bradford and around the wider region can look forward to enjoying the benefits of the new rail services. We have lobbied hard and did everything we could to get this station opened as quickly as possible.