Kirkstall Forge and Apperley Bridge rail stations get go-ahead

One station will be built at Kirkstall Forge, a brownfield site set to become a 1,000-home development

Two railway stations are to be built between Leeds and Bradford at a cost of about £16m after plans were given final government go-ahead.

Funding for the stations, at Kirkstall Forge and Apperley Bridge, will come primarily from the Department for Transport (DfT).

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the two schemes would "unlock growth" in the surrounding areas.

Building is due to start in July, with both stations set to open next summer.

Initially, a regular hourly service, plus additional peak services, will call at Kirkstall Forge, on the line between Leeds and Bradford, according to West Yorkshire Combined Authority's Transport Committee.

Two trains per hour will call at the new Apperley Bridge station, on the same line.

Committee chairman James Lewis said the new stations would "support new jobs, reduce traffic on busy routes between Leeds and Bradford and ease traffic congestion".

The Kirkstall Forge station will form part of the planned major redevelopment of a former industrial site, including about 1,000 new homes and "extensive" commercial buildings, the DfT said.