West Yorkshire leaders are preparing to approve the first phase of the Elland rail station project, with the earliest works centred on transforming how people walk and cycle around the town. Although the new station on the Calder Valley line will eventually improve links to Leeds, Huddersfield, Bradford and Manchester, the Combined Authority says the immediate benefits will come from the active‑travel infrastructure built alongside it.
The first phase, delivered by Calderdale Council, focuses on new walking and cycling routes designed to make it easier and safer for people to reach the station and move around Elland without relying on a car. The plans include new links between Elland and West Vale and two new bridges: one crossing the River Calder and the Calder Hebble Navigation, and another connecting West Vale with Elland via the canal towpath. Council officers say these routes are essential to ensure the station is accessible by foot and bike from the outset, rather than depending on car access.
Approval of the access package would allow construction to begin this year, ahead of a final decision on the station itself, expected in 2026. The Combined Authority will also consider handing responsibility for building the station to Network Rail, drawing on its experience in delivering complex rail infrastructure.
Since 2014, the Combined Authority has opened three new stations — Kirkstall Forge, Apperley Bridge and Low Moor — and invested £111 million in building or upgrading ten bus and rail stations across the region. The Elland scheme continues that pattern but places greater emphasis on active travel, with the council highlighting that the new routes will connect homes, workplaces and industrial areas as well as the station.
Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said: “Elland deserves a new station and we are determined to deliver that alongside our partners.
“The station and wider cycling and walking improvements will increase access to jobs and education, while also boosting connections to the wider region and attracting more businesses to Calderdale.
“This will form part of our Weaver Network, which is joining up all forms of transport and making travelling around West Yorkshire seamless, affordable and reliable.”
Cllr Sarah Courtney, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Transport, said the access package would “transform travel in and around the town”.
“It will connect local communities with the station and improve links across the area and beyond, with shorter, more pleasant and less congested journeys to and from Elland and the surrounding housing and industrial areas,” she said.
“Helping people to get where they need to go – whether that’s home, work, school or in their free time – really supports our priorities for thriving towns and places and reduced inequalities, and helps boost the local economy.
“By making it easier and safer for people to travel in greener, more active ways, we’re also doing our bit for the climate and for people’s health and wellbeing.”
The full scheme is expected to cost around £70 million, with increases attributed to inflation, market conditions and refinements to the design. The project has already secured planning approval, a lawful development certificate, confirmation of a Compulsory Purchase Order by the Secretary of State and the completion of detailed design work.
The active‑travel elements are intended to ensure the station becomes part of everyday movement in Elland, giving residents practical alternatives to short car trips and linking the town more closely to surrounding communities.
