Keighley railway station

Keighley station was first opened by the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway (LBER), on a site slightly further up the line in March 1847.^[1] The volume of traffic over the original level crossing in the town, prompted the Midland Railway, which had absorbed the LBER, to spend £60,000 in 1876 building the road bridge immediately to the north of where the present station is located.^[2] A new station was built south of this bridge in 1883–1885, designed by Charles Trubshaw who was a Midland Railway architect.^[3]

It is also the northern terminus of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (K&WVR). This is a heritage branch line railway run by volunteers that was originally built by the Midland Railway and opened in 1867. Closed to British Railways' passenger traffic in 1962, it was reopened by the K&WVR Preservation Society six years later and is now a popular tourist attraction.

Trains on the Great Northern Railway's Queensbury lines to Bradford Exchange and Halifax also served Keighley from 1882 until closure in May 1955.

From 1892 to 1909, the Midland Railway operated a second station on the Airedale line a short distance from Keighley station at Thwaites. There is now no visible trace of this station.

In 1986, the station was given a Grade II listing by Historic England as a building of special architectural or historic interest.^[4] The listing mentions the main entrance building to be of coursed, dressed millstone grit. The two westernmost platforms have period furnishings, including cast-iron lamp posts; on platform 4, a good cast-iron and glass canopy with decorative columns; and on platform 3, an eight-columned arcade, the remains of a canopy and a late 19th century engine water-filling pump.^[4]

In 2025, a major £10m refurbishment of the station was completed. This included replacing the roof and much of the old ironwork, repairing the front canopy and creating a new visitor centre in the old water tower for the KWVR.^[5]

The National Rail side of the station is fully staffed, with the ticket office open seven days a week (except evenings). Train running information is provided via a public address system, posters and digital information screens. A waiting room is available on platform 1 and shelters on platform 2. Step-free access to both platforms from the main entrance is via ramps from the road above, whilst platform 1 also has level access from Dalton Lane.^[6]

The K&WVR has its own ticket office, with access ramps from the shared main entrance to platforms 3 and 4. It also has a refreshment stand and bookstall on platform 4, which is open when the railway is operating.^[7]

The station was used in the filming of the film Yanks (1979) during the ending, where the troops board their train to head to the front.^[12] and in the Pink Floyd film, The Wall (1982).^{[citation needed]}

It was used in the filming of Peaky Blinders, a BBC television drama about criminals in Birmingham just after the First World War.^[13]

The station was featured in the Head & Shoulders advertisement Don't Break Up With Your Hair in 2009. It uses a K&WVR platform, notable for the period features that it has retained over the years.^[14]

In the first episode of All Creatures Great and Small (2020), the main character, James Herriot, says goodbye to his parents and boards a train in Glasgow; these scenes were actually filmed at Keighley station. A KWVR train also appears in that episode.^[15]

• Listed buildings in Keighley