EFFORTS are on track to make a rail route through Keighley dementia-friendly.

The Bentham Line has already initiated groundbreaking measures and more projects are being developed.

North Yorkshire County Council is working with the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership and dementia-support organisations on a range of schemes.

Input has been provided by people with experience of living with dementia, who have made suggestions for improvements.

Walks and area guides are being created to provide special railway-based activities along the line.

And the partnership is developing two dementia-friendly information kits.

One kit will focus on staff and volunteers, increasing their understanding and awareness of dementia and advising on how they should respond to people with the condition.

The other will centre on creating dementia-friendly railway environments and support services.

Once completed, the kits will be shared with communities along the Bentham Line – which follows a route between Leeds and Morecambe, including Keighley.

Also, other rail partnerships and train operators will receive the kits so they can develop their own approaches to being dementia-friendly.

North Yorkshire county councillor Michael Harrison, executive member for adult social care and health integration, said the authority was delighted to be involved.

He added: "The county is home to 10,000 people living with the condition and we have just launched our dementia strategy, called Bring Me Sunshine.

"It's an important document because it sets out the improvements we want to make over the next five years for people affected by dementia.

"An important part of this is to spread the message that it is possible to live well with dementia, and that people with the condition have a valuable role to play in their communities.

"Initiatives such as the work by the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership play such a vital part in making that aspiration a reality."

Gerald Townson, partnership chairman, pays tribute to the support received.

"Our dementia-friendly initiative is being funded by the Northern Seed Corn Fund along with additional finance from Northern and the partnership itself," he said.

"Support in kind is being offered by all the project partners, including North Yorkshire County Council and – very importantly – community organisations along the route."

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for highways, welcomed the initiative.

"We know that we are playing a very important role in helping to develop services and facilities that will assist people living with dementia and their carers to enjoy getting out and about by rail and find it a safe and secure experience," he added.