FAQs

Northern and the Combined Authority are working towards making its rail stations more accessible and user-friendly for all customers. These 15 stations were selected as they have some of the highest number of customers across the 64 Northern run stations in West Yorkshire.

The accessibility of rail stations varies considerably across West Yorkshire, with some lacking facilities that assist the customer experience, such as braille station maps and induction loops.  Northern has undertaken surveys at all 64 West Yorkshire stations to identify the improvements needed at each station to ensure that facilities will meet the current Network Rail standards. 

Northern reviewed the current facilities against the national standards and disabled user experiences using key scenarios. This information and engagement with the Northern Accessibility User Group have been used to create improvement options for each of the 15 rail stations. 

Improving accessibility and inclusivity benefits a broad range of existing and potential rail users, including older and mobility-impaired people, people with pushchairs and small children and those with learning difficulties, autism, hearing or visual impairments.

Northern will continue to engage with the Northern Accessibility User Group throughout the process.

There are 64 Northern run stations across West Yorkshire. Subject to a successful business case, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority will fund the first phase of improvements at 15 of these stations as part of the development of the Weaver Network. This work supports our ambition for the Weaver Network, with transport that’s easy to navigate and simple to use. Unveiled in May 2025 by the Combined Authority, the Weaver Network is the new name and unifying brand for transport in West Yorkshire.

Northern hopes to deliver further improvements to the remaining stations through future phases of work. Any future enhancements would be subject to funding and programme development.

Earlier this year, the Rail Accessibility Package had to change the scope of the scheme because of increases in forecasted costs. To address this, the Combined Authority and Northern worked together to review the scheme and agree on the most impactful changes that would still meet the schemes goals and stay within budget. As a result, some accessibility improvements including new or improved toilets were removed from the project, allowing the scheme to continue moving forward. The accessibility improvements that were taken out of scope are still within Northern's ambitions to be delivered as part of future schemes, but toilets will not be included within this phase of work. 

Northern is working to ensure that all stations provide a consistent level of accessibility. The review of phase one stations found that some facilities already meet the required standards, meaning no further improvements or replacements are needed. As this is the first phase of the programme, we are looking to prioritise improvements that will have the greatest impact within the available funding.

Subject to approval of the business cases, Northern will lead on the delivery of the works. 

Some minor disruption may happen during installation, but plans will be put in place to keep this to a minimum and to maintain accessibility to the station where possible. Any disruption at your local station will be communicated in advance and mitigated against where possible. 

Subject to a successful business case, phase one of the Rail Accessibility Package will be delivered through funding provided to the Combined Authority by HM Government. The funding for this scheme is known as capital funding; this means it can only be spent on schemes to deliver new or improved infrastructure.  The cost of phase one of this package (15 stations) is expected to cost £5 million.