Platform plans for train station in £3.2 transport revamp

An abandoned platform at Castleford railway station could be brought back unto use as part of a £3.2 million scheme to improve transport services.
On Track: Councillors gather at Castleford railway station to support the new plans.On Track: Councillors gather at Castleford railway station to support the new plans.
On Track: Councillors gather at Castleford railway station to support the new plans.

Wakefield Council is already working with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority on a business case for the project.

This includes an upgrade for the outside of the station, a new waiting room, and better ticketing facilities.

The plan will also improve car parking and footpaths.

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But Coun Denise Jeffery, cabinet member for economic growth and skills at Wakefield Council, is campaigning for the station’s second platform to be re-opened.

She said: “Good transport links play a vital role in making public transport services more accessible. A second platform would mean more and better services for the community.

“Strong transport links are important in helping our district to thrive, as they also support business growth and job creation.”

Coun Jeffery, cabinet member for transport, Coun Matthew Morley, and local ward councillors have already held discussions with Coun Keith Wakefield, chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s transport committee.

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Discussions would also need to take place with train operators and Network Rail as part of the campaign, but Castleford central and Glass Houghton ward councillor, Richard Forster, sees the move as a golden opportunity.

He said: “I think we need to keep pressing for this, it could open a lot of avenues for people travelling both in and out of Castleford.

“The town has a lot going for it but it’s making sure people can get here.

“That second platform has been shut for some years, but the tracks are still there, it’s a case of getting train operators to run services.

“I remember being stood on that platform when I was young to get the steam train to Blackpool.”