Commuters and tourists passing through Keighley’s historic railway station could soon wait for their trains in a new cafe, if plans by a local landlord are approved.

The Victorian station, much of which is grade II listed, is a terminus of popular tourist attraction the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway line, as well as operating services to Bradford, Skipton and other venues.

John Mitchell, from the Cricketers’ Arms on Coney Lane, plans to transform an empty unit at the station, formally the musician’s centre and parcel office before that, into a cafe.

If approved, the new business would create four full-time and six part-time jobs.

Mr Mitchell said his plans for the cafe dated back to April 2012 when the unit became vacant, but issues to do with the building’s listed status and ownership by Network Rail had held the scheme up.

He has now submitted a planning application to Bradford Council to re-install doors at a currently bricked-up entrance to the unit, and hopes to move ahead with the cafe as soon as permission is granted.

He has also applied for an alcohol licence for the site, but said booze would not be the focus of the cafe.

He said: “We have applied to open until late, but we have no intention of staying open that late. It will probably be morning until about 7pm.

“There had been talk of it becoming a pub, but that isn’t what it is.

“Network Rail is hoping to revamp the station and that is what we want to do. There is a lot of space there and we’re looking to the future “In the coming years I see more and more people moving onto public transport and so train stations are going to need more and more facilities like this. It is a place people can meet before they travel to Leeds or where they can get a coffee after work.”