UK city 200-miles from London gets £35m boost with new lines launched
The multi-million pound expansion of a West Yorkshire rail station has opened and was marked by new services to London's King Cross station
A new rail platform has officially opened with its first new direct services to London. The expansion of the now four-platform station in Bradford was made possible by substantial government funding.
The brand-new platform - Platform 0 - at Bradford Forster Square Rail station opened on Monday, May 19 with the first new LNER services. The platform enables more trains to run between Bradford and London Kings Cross between Monday and Saturday.
Beginning this week, around seven direct trains a day will run from the station to the capital – with more services expected to be added in December. This includes a morning northbound service that arrives in the West Yorkshire city at 9.52am.
The previous government announced funding for the new platform back in 2024, promising to support Bradford for its 2025 City of Culture year. The platform expansion was made possible thanks to £35million of funding from the government.
Members of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority were given an update on the platform, prior to its opening. The report into rail services present to the committee at their last meeting said: 'May will also see the introduction of the much-anticipated step-change to Bradford's London trains, increasing on weekdays from just two per day to seven, and from one to two on Sundays (further increase to six on Sundays from December) – though at the time of writing this is subject to final confirmation.'
The report continued: 'This is enabled by the opening of the new Platform 0 at Forster Square. LNER's expanded services to Bradford mark a significant boost in connectivity, supporting the city's UK City of Culture celebrations while driving economic growth and opportunity across the region.'
In the lead up to the opening of Platform 0, Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe shared: 'This is £35m of investment from the Government and we have only got that because Bradford is City of Culture. We'd have never got this if not for that.'
Hinchcliffe continued: 'We made the case that if you want to make sure the world is connected to Bradford, you have to make sure trains come here. There will be seven trains a day from London to Bradford and back again. This is a real sign of success for the City of Culture.'
Hinchcliffe confirmed that the new LNER trains will also benefit Shipley and will begin stopping off at the station's lengthened platforms in August.
In preparation for the platform opening, the entire community got involved to present the station in the best possible light. A team of volunteers working with Bradford City Community Foundation and Peer Action Collective worked alongside staff from Northern, LNER, ISS, and Bradford Council to clean up the station.
Volunteers spent the day picking up litter in the station, car park, and surrounding area. The station team also cleared the overgrown green space next to Platform 1 in preparation for the planting of a community garden.
When the new platform was announced, plans also outlined a new roof canopy, passenger furniture, information screens, CCTV and lighting to be installed in the railway arches. The development involved a land purchase east of Platform 1.
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