Victorian footbridge at Garforth Station to move to heritage railway as part of Leeds to York line electrification

The old North Eastern Railway’s ornate bridge at Garforth Station was built in 1900, but is scheduled for removal in order to accommodate new overhead wires as part of the electrification and upgrade of the Leeds to York line.

The Railway Heritage Trust has told The Yorkshire Post previously that redundant structures such as footbridges and signal boxes that are being retired from service pose difficulties as many are listed and so cannot be scrapped, but there are far more than can be feasibly found new homes.

Former director Andy Savage, who has since retired from the role, said: "We are under pressure to replace footbridges for wheelchair access, and with electrification they now have to be higher and they must have solid sides. We have these beautiful Victorian bridges, but there is no use for them now, and they're just as inaccessible on a heritage railway.

"We can't scrap the listed ones and there isn't a giant museum we can just take them to. It's an ongoing problem."

The Garforth footbridge is one of the fortunate ones – the Trust has awarded a £25,000 grant to the Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway in Kent which will cover the costs of transporting it to the narrow gauge hobby line.

An 1880s footbridge at Beverley Station was also under threat last year when Network Rail announced the removal of its unique but decaying canopy, but the rest of the structure will be refurbished. The National Railway Museum and North Yorkshire Moors Railway declined the canopy.