Rail bosses warned more direct routes are needed to serve city

A plan is being put together which will help to shape rail investment and development in West Yorkshire up to 2026 and be used to influence the key decision makers in Government and the rail industry.

Metro is consulting on its plan which sets out how it will improve and increase services in the county and members of Bradford Council have been asked for their views.

A report prepared for councillors next weeks warns that despite Bradford being a major metropolitan district “it has relatively few direct rail services to other parts of the UK”.

“A particular issue for the district is the lack of direct services and slow journey times to Leeds city region sub-regional centres and also other city region centres such as Sheffield and Nottingham.

“Opportunities to develop other key rail interchanges and new links remote from Leeds should be sought, particularly where these can reduce the pressure on Leeds and also, spread the economic and regeneration benefits of good rail connectivity over the wider area,” the report adds.

Members of Bradford Council’s environmental waste and management overview and scrutiny committee, which meets on Thursday, will discuss their response to the rail plan which sets out some of the proposals for rail lines in the area.

These include increasing capacity on the line between Bradford, Leeds and Skipton. A new station is to be built at Apperley Bridge and other moves could include improving signalling to increase capacity between Shipley and Skipton.

On the Wharefdale line, between Bradford and Ilkley, future steps to improve services could include the redevelopment of Forster Square and Shipley stations. The Caldervale Line, which connects Bradford with Leeds, Halifax, Manchester, Huddersfield and Bradford, is to get a new station at Low Moor, the planned Northern Hub project would improve services and potential improvements include electrification.

The Northern Hub will provide faster, more frequent trains across the Pennines. The Ordsall Chord, a new piece of railway in Manchester connecting Piccadilly and Victoria stations, could see all fast trans Pennine services going via Manchester Victoria station – a much quicker route – as soon as 2016. It would also mean more fast trains could run.

The report recommends that councillors show their support for the changes but also recommends that Metro considers supporting a number of aspirations.

These include prioritising the electrification of the Caldervale line to improve reliability.

“Work undertaken by Bradford in conjunction with Calderdale Council and Metro indicates that the line is significantly underperforming which has resulted in suppressed demand for travel along the corridor.”

The council’s wish list also includes more direct services between Bradford and other parts of the country. It also suggests the feasibility of operating commuter services on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is investigated.

There has been a big increase in passenger numbers on the rail network in West Yorkshire with a 38 per cent increase in patronage on Northern rail services since 2004. In the Bradford district passenger numbers increased by 13 per cent last year.

Council bosses in the city say increasing rail services to and from the Bradford district will support the regeneration of the local economy and help to attract growth as improving journey times and direct services improves “economic dynamism”.

If committee members approve the comments when they meet next on Thursday, they will be submitted by the authority as part of the consultation on the rail plan.

[email protected]