The government has confirmed a further 200 million pounds to transform Leeds station, taking total investment in the station to over 300 million pounds, with the upgrades set to be delivered by 2030. The funding was announced in the Autumn Budget on October 28.
The work includes a new central overbridge, three new entrances, more space on the concourses, a longer platform 14, nearly 40 percent more ticket barriers and increased lift capacity. Leeds is the United Kingdom’s third busiest station outside London, handling more than 27 million passengers a year, with eight in ten services in West Yorkshire starting or ending there; passenger numbers are forecast to grow by almost 12 million a year by 2043. The three new entrances will link the station to the South Bank, the Dark Arches and Princes Square.
“Leeds station is the gateway to West Yorkshire, and this extra 200 million investment will turn it into a station this city can be proud of,” said Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander. The announcement came a week after the government confirmed a new station at Bradford Interchange, which with the proposed West Yorkshire Mass Transit system would support thousands of homes and jobs and up to 1 billion pounds in economic benefits, the department said.
The Leeds work also paves the way for the Transpennine Route Upgrade, an 11 billion pound investment to lift passenger capacity by 30 percent and electrify key routes across the North, and for Northern Powerhouse Rail, the planned turn up and go network between the region’s major cities, ahead of the establishment of Great British Railways.