City bus station reopens after year-long closure

Bus services have returned to Bradford Interchange once again - exactly a year after it closed due to structural problems.

In total, 47 services return to the bus station from Sunday - about 80% of all routes - while the remaining 11 services continue to run from Hall Ings and Nelson Street.

All routes are expected to return to the station in April following the completion of resurfacing works.

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said: "We're really looking forward to welcoming back passengers to the Interchange, they've shown real patience since we made the decision to close on safety grounds."

"We're encouraging people to check where their services will be departing from in advance to ensure they have the smoothest possible journey."

The concourse and bus station shut on 4 January 2024 due to safety concerns after a piece of concrete fell from the roof of an underground car park.

Real-time information screens will be operating both at the station and on-street from Sunday, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) said.

Printed timetables will be available from mid-January, it added, with extra staff deployed in and around the bus station for the first few days of reopening.

The bus stops on Bridge Street will no longer be in use from Monday, with all coach services continuing to use temporary bus stops on Nelson Street.

A recent report to owner and operator WYCA recommended plans were put in place as soon as possible to eventually replace the ageing facility.

A new bus station for Bradford city centre will take around five years to plan and build, the Local Democracy Reporting Service previously said.

Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said there was a "real opportunity" to create a new station once trams were back in the city.

"With the Interchange coming to the end of its life, we can look at how we can make Bradford a better connected city for the next 50 to 100 years," she said.

"The new infrastructure we are putting in place will be there for decades."

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