Huddersfield Railway Station is set to get a First Class waiting room – several decades after the last one closed.
Tens of thousands of pounds have been spent on converting former training room facilities on Platform One into a stylish, modern waiting room.
Passengers will be able to relax in a plush, spacious room which boasts toilets, TV, Wi-Fi, and a selection of soft drinks as well as tea and coffee.
Waiting rooms for Standard Class passengers have also been developed with facilities now available on Platforms One, Four, Eight and Two.
Cyclists will also get their own hub on Platform One with capacity to house 54 cycles.
Station Manager Andy Croughan said the station had an exciting future with electrification of the TransPennine route due to start over the next few years.
In addition in December the Government announced that rail journeys across Huddersfield and the rest of Yorkshire would undergo the biggest transformation in decades.
Passengers can look forward to 500 new carriages, room for 40,000 extra passengers at the busiest times and more than 2,000 extra services a week which will be delivered across the north.
Mr Croughan said this latest development was part of a recent programme of improvements the most significant of which was the introduction of much-needed lifts and automatic ticket barriers.
He said: “This is something that has taken three to four months to put together and something that TransPennine Express have wanted to do for the station for a while.
“It’s part of something called the National Stations Improvement Project which like the National Lottery has funded improvements to dozens of stations across the country.
“We are very pleased. We have always known that Huddersfield is an important station and people from Huddersfield are getting a station they can be proud of.
“There’s potential for First Class travel to grow. We are expecting more people purchasing First Class tickets and who will find the facilities relaxing and comfortable.”
Special guests including Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman and Chocolat author Joanne Harris, who lives in the town, are being invited to the official opening ceremony on the afternoon of June 8.
Huddersfield railway enthusiast Peter Marshall said: “I have been round all the people I can think of who would know about the First Class waiting room.
“The general consensus is that it probably closed in the 1950s and it may have been in the wooden building on platform 4/8. However, no-one is at all certain.”
And acclaimed rail expert, Prof Paul Salveson MBE, said: “It’s great that Huddersfield is getting further enhancements to its magnificent station.”
Kirklees regeneration chief Clr Peter McBride added: “That’s excellent news. Millions of pounds are going to be spent on various projects at Huddersfield over the next few years.
“One of the platforms will be significantly lengthened to accommodate longer trains or a whole new platform, Platform 9, will be created. There is also a big signalling problem that needs dealing as well as sorting out a massive drain.”
