Train station set to open this weekend
WEST Yorkshire’s latest rail station is set to welcome its first passengers this weekend.
Kirkstall Forge Station, located within the new Kirkstall Forge development, will open to passengers on Sunday. Initially, one train per hour will call in each direction, with additional services during the morning and evening peaks.
The new station includes a 129-space car park and a pickup/drop off point and, fully-accessible platforms with both staircases and ramps. It also has secure cycle parking and waiting shelters.
Together with Apperley Bridge Rail Station, which opened in December 2015, Kirkstall Forge is part of West Yorkshire’s £15.9m Rail Growth Package.
Leader of Leeds City Council Judith Blake said: “It is fantastic news that rail services to the new Kirkstall Forge Station are about to open. The station has a key role to play in realising the major regeneration potential of the broader Kirkstall Forge development, bringing with it new jobs, training opportunities, housing and a range of office and leisure facilities to offer a significant boost to the local economy. We look forward to seeing lots of people making use of the new station and Kirkstall Forge as a prime destination as well as a gateway to the city centre and beyond in the weeks, months and years to come.”
Building work has started at the Kirkstall Forge development, with the first 110,000 sq ft, seven-story flagship office due for completion in 2017, anchored by two pre-lets.
CEG’s 57-acre development is set to become home to a mixed-use community in a wooded, riverside setting.
Ultimately it will comprise 1,050 new homes, 300,000 sq ft of offices and 100,000 sq ft of retail, leisure and community space, creating around 2,400 new jobs.
