8:20am Tuesday 6th October 2009
Platforms at railway stations on the Aire Valley line could be lengthened as part of Network Rail’s long-term strategy.
Network Rail recently published its 10-year Yorkshire and Humberside Route Utilisation Strategy, which addresses a number of issues including overcrowding, regional links and freight growth.
Tim Calow, chairman of the Aire Valley Rail Users Group, said overcrowding was a big issue on the line.
“Passenger numbers are growing by 10 per cent each year,” he said. “At peak times, the Airedale line has between 500 to 550 passengers and the trains have only got 360 seats.”
Mr Calow said Network Rail needed to buy more trains to cope with peak demand.
But he added: “It’s difficult to run more trains, so they would like to run longer trains. They want to have six-coach trains rather than the four-coach trains which is the maximum number they run at the moment. However, they’ve got to have longer platforms or have special procedures to open doors for this to happen. Longer platforms would make life easier.”
He said the strategy would make funding available for lengthening platforms at Cononley, Steeton-Silsden, Crossflatts and Saltaire. But he said the exact timing of the work was a “bit vague” and the strategy was not clear about where the extra “coaches” would come from.
“We all want the more modern, comfortable electric trains, but they won’t be buying those because they’re not building them now,” said Mr Calow. “Our concern is that we might be getting a lot of older trains.
He said more trains were needed, particularly with new housing developments such as the one at Belle Vue Mills, close to Skipton railway station.
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