LABOUR'S shadow rail minister made tracks for Keighley.

Stephen Morgan visited the railway station to see the progress being made on renovation work.

He was accompanied by Keighley's Labour parliamentary candidate, John Grogan.

They met representatives of Northern, Network Rail and the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

And they were updated by Skipton-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership on the campaign to reopen the Skipton-Colne railway line, which would provide a direct trans-Pennine link from Keighley.

Mr Grogan says: "Keighley railway station has been at the heart of the town since 1867.

"Once again it is seeing well over a million passengers a year, recovering well from the stark decline during the pandemic.

"I was involved in discussions back in 2018 about the renovation of the station. It was good to learn that the current work should be finished by the end of this year."

But he warned of a "double whammy" facing Keighley rail passengers at the start of March, with another strike on Friday (March 1) and a hike in fares coming into effect next Sunday (March 3).

"Whilst the Government is stressing the importance of cutting inflation it doesn't seem right it's imposing fare increases of this magnitude," says Mr Grogan.