The completion of a £9.9m renovation of the railway station at Keighley in West Yorkshire was officially celebrated last Friday, 4th April.

Celebrations included a special train journey for guests along the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, hauled by a steam locomotive from the era when the station was built.

The station was station built in 1885 and is grade II-listed, but has been showing signs of age and parts had been closed off because of safety concerns.

Refurbishment of the station took 18 months and, besides being repainted in classic colours of yellow vanilla and Keighley maroon, the changes included:

• Completely refurbishing the station forecourt, frontage, waiting room, footbridges, drainage, and masonry.
• Repairing and renewing timber in the ramps and roofs across the station, including stabilising the gable end of the café.
• Extensive strengthening of the structure, including work to reopen the western elevation link bridge
• Repairing the masonry and drainage in the western corner of the station car park.

Over 100 new window panes were replaced with hand-built timber frames, old cast iron drainpipes were replaced by aluminium with matching vintage designs, and the station’s chimneys were rebuilt brick by brick.

Keighley station is shared with the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (KWVR), and although Network Rail was responsible for the renovation, the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway was closely involved throughout the work. The project also saw the station’s historical water tower converted into a visitor centre.

On the heritage railway side of the station, a huge beam was added to strengthen the girder on the western bridge to platforms 3 and 4, which has allowed this area to reopen. The beam has been left uncovered to illustrate the ‘old meets new aspects’ of the project.

A grant of £160,000 from the Railway Heritage Trust helped towards the project, which included strengthening the road bridge, relaying the station forecourt, reopening the waiting room on platform 1, and installing a partition between the national railway network and heritage railway parts of the station.

Matthew Stroh, Keighley & Worth Valley Railway chairman, commented that the project was a true partnership effort, by working closely with Network Rail and their contractors and temporarily closing the line to allow them the time and space needed to work.

Thanks to their dedication, the station has been restored to its former glory.

Last September, the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway undertook its own major restoration project with a £1.25 million reconstruction of Bridge 27 in Haworth.

“Everyone involved in transforming Keighley station has taken great pride and care at every stage, knowing that we’re providing passenger benefits now and preserving the heritage for generations to come. The station has remained open, so visitors were able to see some of the changes, but it was when the scaffolding came down that the real difference became clear. Keighley caters for everyday visitors and heritage enthusiasts, and we’ve delivered a station which we’re sure will delight them all.”

Jonny Ham, Network Rail lead portfolio manager