Green light for £100m train depot

An artist's impression of the Shipley Train Care Centre

A £100m rail depot that is part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade has been given the go-ahead by planners.

The Shipley Train Care Centre will be built next to Shipley railway station after plans were approved by Bradford Council.

The development on the former Crossley Evans scrapyard site is expected to be completed by 2027, bringing more than 90 jobs to the town.

Network Rail's application said: "It has been a long-term ambition of the rail industry to seek improved depot and train care facilities for the electric fleet serving the Wharfedale and Airedale lines, as the facility currently at Neville Hill is near capacity."

The development was first announced in March by then rail minister Huw Merriman.

The Transpennine Route Upgrade is a multi-billion-pound scheme to improve services between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.

The Shipley depot will replace the Neville Hill facility in east Leeds, which will be temporarily shut as part of upcoming Transpennine route work.

When Neville Hill reopens, a depot will remain in Shipley to increase capacity.

Crossley Evans agreed to relocate the scrapyard to allow the development to go ahead, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Network Rail's plans included a large maintenance building, an under-frame cleaning facility, a carriage wash machine and gatehouse building.

The application said: “The purpose of the depot is to provide day-to-day railway servicing, maintenance and stabling of trains associated with the Northern franchise.

“The depot will be operational 24 hours a day throughout the week and weekends.

"It is anticipated that approximately 92 staff will be employed at the site.”

The site was originally built as a goods yard alongside the railway line between Shipley and Bradford, and was opened by the Leeds and Bradford Railway Company in 1846.

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