It’s full steam ahead for users of the new railway station at Apperley Bridge which has been hailed as a runaway success for the Bradford district and the wider region.
Around 400 passengers a day are now using the station and the 297 space car park fills up to 85 per cent capacity on weekdays.
Two trains per hour, between Leeds, or Bradford Forster Square and Skipton, pass through the station in each direction between Monday and Saturday and hourly on Sundays.
The station, which opened in December last year, was part of a £15.9m Rail Growth Package, approved by the Department of Transport in May 2014
The Package also included the new station at Kirkstall Forge which opened in June this year on the same line.
Apperley Bridge's old train station, which opened in the 19th century, was closed as part of the Beeching cuts in 1965.
The new station was the result of a partnership project between the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Network Rail and lobbying by Bradford councillors.
It includes modern waiting shelters, secure cycle parking, CCTV security cameras, and fully accessible platforms with staircases and ramps.
New bus services are also running from the station, giving passengers from Greengates, Idle, Thorpe Edge and Eccleshill, public transport links to the railway network.
Coun Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: "We expected the new station to be a great success and the user numbers are proving those predictions true.
"The station has provided a cleaner, greener way of moving between Leeds, Bradford and Skipton, reducing traffic congestion on local roads and giving people a sustainable and efficient method of commuting to work.”
Coun Keith Wakefield, Chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: "I’m delighted that the station is proving so popular.
"Apperley Bridge Station is helping more people reach jobs in Bradford Shipley and Leeds, as well as reducing congestion on a key transport route.”
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