Townspeople urged to support campaign for railway station

Members of the Halifax and District Rail Action Group (HADRAG) are hoping to have a train station installed in Elland – which they claim is Yorkshire’s biggest town not to have its own railway service.

They claim that a train station should have been opened in Elland over a decade ago after lines were reopened between Halifax and Huddersfield.

But campaigners say that plans to introduce a rail station in the town were scrapped in a bid to save costs.

Members of HADRAG are set to hold their annual meeting in Elland in a bid to hear from campaigners and experts about why the town should have its own train station.

They believe that the introduction of a rail station in the town would help its local economy to flourish and provide wider links to Manchester, Halifax, Bradford, Leeds and Huddersfield.

Angi Gallagher, who lives in Elland and is the founding member of Give Elland a Rail Station (GEARS), said: “Elland needs better transport links so the town can prosper.

“We have seen major investments from private companies, bringing substantial employment with the Lowfields business area next to the railway.

“Now we need investment from government, West Yorkshire Metro and rail operators to give us a station stop on the line that already has regular trains.”

HADRAG chair Stephen Waring said: “Brighouse station has seen steadily increasing usage and there is every reason to believe that Elland could do just as well.”

Campaigners claim that the most likely site for a station at Elland would be close to the Lowfields Industrial Park.

Mr Waring added: “With good local road links Elland station could be ideal as a park and ride railhead,

“We want local people to come along to our meeting and help put the case to the powers that be.”

The meeting will be held at The Fleece Inn, on Jepson Lane, on Saturday at 10.15am.

Speakers at the public meeting will include Coun Barry Collins, Andrew Haley, from Northern Rail, and Michael Sasse, from West Yorkshire’s publicly funded passenger transport authority Metro.