Keighley station’s stunning transformation is complete following a £9.9m investment.
The grade II-listed station – built in 1885 – had been showing signs of age, with parts closed off because of safety concerns.
An 18-month overhaul has seen it restored in its classic colours of yellow vanilla and “Keighley maroon” – but the changes have gone way beyond a new lick of paint.
The project has included:
- complete refurbishment of the station forecourt, frontage, waiting room, footbridges, drainage and masonry
- repair and renewal of timber in the ramps and roofs across the premises – including stabilising the café’s gable end
- extensive structural strengthening, including work to allow the western elevation link bridge to reopen
- masonry and drainage repairs to the western corner at the Skipton end of the station car park
Guests at the official unveiling today (Friday 4 April) were treated to a steam train trip along the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, pulled by a loco dating from the era when Keighley station was built.
The painstaking refurbishment has included installing hand-built timber frames for some of the 100-plus new window panes, replacing old cast iron drainpipes with matching vintage designs made of aluminium, and rebuilding chimneys brick by brick.
Robbie Moore MP said:
“After too much delay and constant lobbying since 2020, including meetings with Network Rail and Northern and repeated calls in Parliament for the renovation works to get underway - I’m delighted to see these improvements works finally finished - not just for the people of Keighley, but indeed for the million passengers who use our railway station as a key gateway to our town every year.
Keighley railway station holds huge historical and cultural value for our town and it’s fantastic that its future has been secured for the next generation.
I’d like to thank Network Rail and Northern, along with their contractors AMCO for their hard work. Huge credit and thanks also to The Railway Heritage Trust, KWVR and Keighley College for their invaluable involvement, insight and work on this project to help bring it to fruition."
