Menston station.
A £7.8 million “Access for All” upgrade at Menston station, featuring new lifts and a modern footbridge, was completed by March 2026, enabling full, step-free access. While former Shipley Conservative MP Philip Davies campaigned for the project and confirmed the timeline, current Labour MP Anna Dixon welcomed the completion.
Key Details of the Upgrade:
- Improvements: Installation of two 11-meter high, stone-faced lift towers, a reconfigured bridge, and improved CCTV.
- Funding & Delivery: The project was funded by the government’s Access for All programme and delivered by Network Rail, Northern, and others.
- Context: The project resolved the previous lack of lift access, which hindered passengers with limited mobility, prams, or buggies.
- Completion: The works, which started in early 2024, were finished and announced in early March 2026.
Menston Station improvements announced on February 1st, 2024.
Mr Davies said: “I am pleased we now confirmation of a time scale for this vital project. I have constantly been raising this matter with officials at the Department for Transport and Network Rail as it is much needed and has been too slow in making progress. See: House of Commons Questions and Answers
“This will make a really difference to my constituents, many of whom struggle to use the station. Once these upgrade works are completed it will mean disabled people, or those with prams and buggies will have the same access to travel as everyone else and will end the ridiculous situation whereby both platforms are accessible but linked via a footbridge.”
Over the years Mr Davies has raised the issue with many transport ministers and also led a debate in Westminster Hall on the issue.
I met with the then Minister for Transport, Huw Merriman on January 30th, 2024 on behalf of Philip Davies MP. I would like to note that former Councillor Jackie Whiteley was instrumental influencing upgrades at Menston Station alongside Philip Davies.
Hourly train service to Bradford.
Perhaps we have all forgot the promises made in the run up to the last election, unfortunately for some, I don’t!
Anna Dixon MP said:
Labour will put passengers at the heart of the service, by bringing railways back into public ownership as contracts expire.
Bit of a fly in the ointment, Northern Rail (officially Northern Trains Limited) is owned by the UK government’s Department for Transport (DfT) through their public sector operator, DfT OLR Holdings Limited (DOHL). It was brought under public control on March 1, 2020.
No excuses, Northern Rail is owned by the government! We have a Labour government, Mayor and MP, so when are we going to see the 30-minute service to/from Bradford reinstated? It has been almost 2-years and nothing has changed.
