THOSE in charge of delayed Apperley Bridge railway station should "pull their finger out" and get it operational, according to a leading councillor who is now fielding calls from angry motorists.

Liberal Democrat group leader Jeanette Sunderland said she and other ward councillors were being contacted by bemused motorists annoyed that while the station is still not open, a new traffic light system has been fully working on busy Apperley Road for some two weeks.

"Whoever is in charge needs to pull their finger out," said Cllr Sunderland (Lib Dem, Idle and Thackley).

"It's about time they got the station sorted and open.

"They managed to get the traffic lights on Apperley Road up and working.

"In fact we're already getting complaints from drivers having to queue to let non-existent cars out from a non-existent car park!" she said.

"Obviously the people who were doing the road construction and those doing the station would have been working to the same time frame.

"So clearly the station is well behind schedule.

"They need to hurry up and get the station open so that the public can start using it," Cllr Sunderland said.

The £10 million new station was hoped to open in September, but the completion date was then put back until "during the Autumn."

However that day is only a piece of red tape away, West Yorkshire Combined Authority said last night.

"The scheme’s road, which was built to provide access to the construction site, is complete although still being used for construction site traffic including staff, plant and machinery.

"Although the station is not yet open, we are pleased that the new lights are already providing a safe crossing point for pedestrians, including pupils attending the nearby Woodhouse Grove School, across what has always been a busy road.

"We are now awaiting confirmation of the station’s completion and the necessary documentation from the Office of Rail Regulation and Network Rail after which we will be able to announce an opening date for the station," a spokesman said.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "We are currently putting the finishing touches to the station at Apperley Bridge, as well as working with independent bodies to secure the required safety certification to allow passengers to start using the station and to start reaping the rewards that it will bring to communities and commuters in this part of West Yorkshire."

Aire Valley Users Group chairman Tim Calow said he was aware that the lack of safety certification was preventing the longed-for opening, but did not know the reason for that delay.

Paid for by the Department for Transport and with some cash from WYCA, the station with a 297 space car park will have one train an hour in each direction on the Bradford to Leeds line, with the potential to increase rolling stock.

Apperley Bridge's old train station closed in 1965. Plans to re-open it were first announced in 1999.