NORTHERN Rail have announced they are going to run Boxing Day trains on several lines in the north of England in 2019.

Trains will run on the Wharfedale Line from Ilkley to Bradford. Ilkley’s MP John Grogan, who has campaigned for two decades to restore Boxing Day Trains said: “The good news is that for the first time in over 40 years trains will run on Boxing Day in Yorkshire. Ilkley in particular which is not served by buses on Boxing Day will at last get some public transport. The bad news is that Northern Rail who are under a franchise obligation to run 200 trains in the north of England are not running trains to Leeds because they do not control Leeds station which is run by Network Rail. We need a joined up approach and I hope the new Minister of Transport will knock some heads together in Network Rail. Bradford City are away at Boxing Day whilst Leeds United are at home to Preston which will attract a bumper crowd. If this is going to be a proper experiment we need to look where the big demand is and not just go through the motions.”