The first images taking a look at the brand new White Rose Rail Station show the station beginning to take shape.
With a cost of £26.5 million, the station, located between Morley and Cottingley is on the main trans-pennine route to Manchester through Huddersfield. Near to the White Rose Office Park, the White Rose Shopping Centre and the bus interchange, the station will provide access to a number of facilities.
It will have two platforms to provide access to the area and will also be "fully accessible". The station will also include cycle storage and improved walking and cycling routes between Cottingley, Churwell and Millshaw as well as the White Rose Shopping Centre and the bus interchange.
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The station will replace Cottingley Rail Station and is expected to be completed later this year, with an opening in early 2024. Joe Bennett, Operations Director at Spencer Group, who are developing the site, said: "We’ve been working closely with key stakeholders to bring the White Rose Rail Station to fruition and, as a local contractor, are pleased to play our part in helping our infrastructure in the North.
"Over the coming months, the commitment and hard work the partnership and key stakeholders have demonstrated in getting the scheme to this point will be rewarded with significant physical progress on the site.
"The erection of the lift cores and link bridge walkways, connecting the platform works already undertaken, will transform the look of the project and enable people to see the facility for the first time. It’s an exciting time for all involved."
The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, visited the site to see the work being done. This includes the steel frames for the new buildings, these will include two lifts and stairs to reach the platforms.
Station platforms have already been installed along the railway line. Tracy Brabin said: "We’re determined to create a stronger, fairer and better-connected region so that everybody has the same opportunity to get on in life. Investing in transport that supports economic growth is absolutely vital.
"I’m proud that together we’re investing £26.5 million in a new White Rose Rail Station.
"This investment will bring new opportunities for people in Cottingley, Churwell, Millshaw, Morley and beyond by boosting transport links and local regeneration, including housing and job growth."
Funding for the plans has come from the Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund, the Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme and £5 million came from the Department for Transport and their New Stations Fund, alongside some contributions from the owners of White Rose, Munroe K.
David Aspin, CEO of Munroe K, said: "For a long time now I’ve had the ambition to bring a fully accessible new station to White Rose Park and to see it nearing completion is immensely rewarding.
"Delivering the UK’s very first railway station through public and private sector partnership has been a real testament to everyone involved.
"The new station can be the catalyst to unlock real economic development in this area of south Leeds, providing our local communities with better links to education and employment opportunities. Its location at the White Rose Park makes it accessible to many more people living in the area and beyond."
Some students from the nearby Elliot Hudson College have taken part in work experience at the site. The Vice Principal of the college, Rosie Quashie, said: "Work experience placements such as those our students have been able to access at the White Rose Rail Station construction site are so important.
"Working with the staff at Spencer Group has provided our students with a wide range of transferable employability skills and enabled them to gain invaluable experience of the scheme and the different career opportunities in engineering and construction, and this has really supported them in deciding their career destinations after leaving Elliot Hudson College.
"Many of our students rely on public transport and will benefit from the new station when it opens next year."
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