MP gives update on plans to re-open Doncaster railway station closed for 40 years

Proposals have been drawn up to re-open Askern railway station, which was last used in 1984.

Doncaster North MP Ed Miliband has now updated constituents on the proposals.

He said: “I have met with Lord Hendy, Minister for Rail, to discuss the continuing work on reopening Askern Railway Station, alongside local resident Graham Moss, who has been a key campaigner for the station.

“Graham set out the case for the railway which we have been working on for a long time.

“The minister agreed to get back to us with more information on future potential opportunities for us to take forward the campaign, including through South Yorkshire Combined Authority.

“We will keep fighting for this important cause.

"Re-establishing the train station would make a huge difference to the lives and opportunities of residents in Askern and its surrounding villages.”

The station, on the branch line of the former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway between Doncaster and Knottingley, first opened in 1848.

The station was closed to regular passenger traffic in 1947 and to all passenger traffic the following year.

It remained open for goods traffic until October 1964 and was last used in 1984 when all platforms were removed.

It is understood that if a new station gets the go-ahead, it would have to be in a different location to the original station following development in the area in the subsequent years.