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£16 million scheme to improve Leeds to Bradford rail links announced creating 1,800 jobs

Two new stations on the rail line between Bradford and Leeds will improve transport links and support a major regeneration scheme following government agreement to make almost £10 million available to fund the project.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced hat the Department for Transport will fund up to £9.5 million of the £16 million Leeds Rail Growth scheme. One of the new stations will support the development of the Kirkstall Forge site, which will include around 1,000 new homes and extensive commercial buildings.

The development is expected to support 300 jobs during construction. On completion it will create an estimated 1,800 jobs directly linked to the development and 300 more across the wider area.

Patrick McLoughlin said: “These stations represent a major regeneration project for West Yorkshire and provide new transport links for the wider community. They will unlock growth and help create many hundreds of new jobs.

“The £9.5 million we are putting into this project shows that the coalition government is serious about investing in the infrastructure the country needs to drive economic growth, both locally and nationally.”

The scheme consists of 2 new stations on the Leeds-Bradford railway line, at Apperley Bridge and at Kirkstall Forge, both designed to encourage more people to swap their cars for train journeys.

The Apperley Bridge Station will include a park and ride site to serve both Leeds and Bradford whilst the Kirkstall Forge Station will kick start over £400 million of mixed-use development at the Old Forge site.

The main works are scheduled to start in July with completion of the scheme in August 2015.The department will provide a maximum of £9.573 million towards the full scheme cost of £15.9 million.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .