PREPARATORY work is underway for the construction of an extra platform at Bradford Forster Square railway station.

Machinery has been on-site in recent weeks as vegetation and foliage is cleared at the side of the station closest to the retail park.

The new platform would create capacity for up to five extra London services a day and is part of a £24m Government investment.

When the Department for Transport announced the funding, it was stated that the project could triple the number of trains between the city and the capital in time for Bradford’s City of Culture year.

The scheme is designed to “reduce delays and futureproof the station for generations to come.”

The platform plan is part of the wider regeneration of the Forster Square area of the city centre. One of the more controversial elements of the wider plan is the proposed gating-off of rail arches that are regularly used by rough sleepers for shelter.

The ten arches in the pedestrian route between Cheapside and Forster Square Rail Station will be blocked off by three-metre-high decorated panels, with new lighting installed inside.