Does Thirsk need lifts ?

In 2021 North Yorkshire County Council made a bid for £39m to the Governments 'Levelling-Up Fund' in order to improve Thirsk, Scarborough and Seamer railway stations. At Thirsk the plan was to spend  £5.4m on a replacement footbridge with 3 lift towers, at Seamer a new footbridge across the rail line and A64 with a...

Is Network Rail holding Halifax back ?

In December 2022 it was announced that around 30 transport schemes were paused due to 'inflation' in order to save "£270m and create headroom for other projects to proceed.". [1] One of these schemes was the Halifax Station Gateway scheme, a scheme that was to see a brand new Station building for Halifax that was...

What could this new line do for Calderdale ?

The news that a new rail line could be coming through East Calderdale, has been met with skepticism by the Halifax & District Rail Action Group who don't seem too particular keep on the idea and who appear would rather see electrification and an upgrade of the Calder Valley line instead, with more semi-fast and...

Why not convert Wheatley Viaduct into a walking/cycle path ?

In November last year it was reported by the Halifax Courier and the BBC that the disused railway viaduct in Wheatley, Halifax that used to connect Halifax St Pauls to Holmfield via Pellon, is to undergo a £1.2 million refurbishment by National Highways' Historical Railways Estate (HRE). [1 & 2] This work which is currently...

Could Manchester finally have an Underground Station ?

An underground station for Manchester has been estimated to cost up to £12.1 billion depending on which option is chosen. [1] This is for a 4 platform underground station with capability to terminate 400m long HS2 services from any platform, despite the fact that these 400m long HS2 services were never planned to head through...

Are insurance companies holding us back from a greener future ?

In January 2020 plans were consulted upon for a brand new bus station in Halifax, in July 2020 planning permission was sought and subsequently granted later in October under planning application 20/00752/LBC. Permission for this project is once again being sought to change a number of elements of the scheme, in particular two ‘green’ features,...

Was they’re any sense in using HS2 for Northern Powerhouse Rail ?

With the news that High Speed 2 will now not reach Manchester on dedicated tracks but will carry on above Birmingham on existing tracks, whilst still fulfilling it's original objective of increasing capacity upon the lower half of the West Coast Mainline, was there any sense in combining HS2 with Northern Powerhouse Rail ? As...

Could Hebden Bridge benefit from a bigger Waiting room ?

The original waiting room at Hebden Bridge station On the 7th September 2023 the Halifax Courier reported how  "Space is available to let in Grade II listed Hebden Bridge Station" this space on platform level is within what used to be the stations waiting room that originally had direct access from the stations booking hall....

Why not run longer trains to Glasgow ?

With calls for better HS2 connectivity to Scotland, why not run longer trains to Glasgow ? HS2 is to be operated by new 200m long trains with the majority of services coupled together to form 400m long sets. In order to run to places such as Glasgow & Edinburgh upon the existing national rail network...

Can spending on Bradford Forster Square be justified ?

Whilst many projects that were to be funded by the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund have had to be paused owing to inflation, many schemes appear to have escaped consideration. [1] The spending of £19.15 million on Bradford Interchange which is considered to be a temporary measure is questionable, the spending of £17.3 million on...