Network Rail releases images of new bridge at Yorkshire station that will replace Grade II-listed Victorian structure being sent to heritage line

The ‘Beacon’ design, which has two lift shafts, will replace a bridge over the tracks built by the North Eastern Railway in 1900, which will now be dismantled and sent to a heritage railway for preservation.

The Beacon bridge, when installed, will be the first of its kind in the country. Work to construct it starts this month and will take around a year to complete.

Despite the old bridge’s Grade II listing and heritage value, it is not compliant with modern accessibility standards.

Garforth Station car park will lose 60 spaces while the work takes place.

Network Rail’s Chris Wright said: “The Beacon bridge has been designed with increased focus on people and place. The structure appears lighter than traditional designs, with the glass deck and stairs preserving views of the adjacent listed road bridge. More crucially, it will deliver the long-awaited step-free access that Garforth needs and deserves. Being able to release these images is hugely exciting as we move into the construction phase of the project.”

The old bridge will be removed and taken to its new home, the Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway in Kent. A temporary footbridge will be installed in June to allow access between platforms to be maintained while the Beacon bridge is under construction.

Network Rail faces a similar dilemma regarding many listed footbridges which, as well as not being step-free, are often not high enough to allow overhead electric wires to pass beneath them.

They and other old structures such as signal boxes with listed protection cannot be scrapped, but there are also more of them than can feasibly be found new homes on heritage railways and in museums. The issue of access is still a problem for heritage lines and visitor attractions.

The Garforth footbridge is one of the fortunate ones – the Railway Heritage Trust has awarded a £25,000 grant to the Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway which will cover the costs of transporting it to the narrow gauge hobby line.

An 1880s footbridge at Beverley Station was also under threat last year when Network Rail announced the removal of its unique but decaying canopy, but the rest of the structure will be refurbished.