Leeds railway station

Leeds
Leeds railway station
Location
Place	Leeds
Local authority	City of Leeds
Grid reference	SE299331
Operations
Station code	LDS
Managed by	Network Rail
Number of platforms	17
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	14.734 million
2005/06 *	16.060 million
2006/07 *	17.357 million
2007/08 *	18.121 million
2008/09 *	22.422 million
2009/10 *	21.978 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	West Yorkshire (Metro)
Zone	1
History
Opened 1938 Rebuilt 1967 Rebuilt 2002 (1938 Rebuilt 1967 Rebuilt 2002)
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Leeds from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Leeds railway station (also known as Leeds City station)^[1][2][3][4] is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. The station provides connections to London, Bristol, Plymouth and the South West, Nottingham, Birmingham and the Midlands, Newcastle upon Tyne, York, Edinburgh and the North East, Manchester and Liverpool and the North West, Hull, Scarborough, Selby and Doncaster, as well as to local and regional destinations in Yorkshire. It is also the terminus for trains running on the scenic Settle to Carlisle line, as well as the hub of the Metro commuter network. It is located on New Station Street to the south of City Square, at the bottom of Park Row, behind the landmark Queens Hotel.

In 2008/9, Leeds was the busiest railway station in the North of England and the third busiest in the United Kingdom outside London, after Birmingham New Street and Glasgow Central.^[5][6] According to Network Rail, which manages the station, over 36.8 million people use the station annually.^[6]

Contents 1 Description 2 Transport links 2.1 Cycle hub 3 History 3.1 Past railway stations 3.2 1938 rebuilding 3.3 1962 British Railways House 3.4 1967 rebuilding 3.5 2002 rebuilding 3.6 2008 work 4 Future 4.1 Southern entrance 4.2 Expansion 4.3 Southern Concourse 5 Services 6 References 7 External links

Description

The station is situated on a hill falling from the south of the city down to the River Aire and the Leeds canal basin. Much of it is supported on a huge number of Victorian brick vaulted arches known to the people of Leeds as The Dark Arches. Situated just off Neville Street under the Dark Arches is Granary Wharf; a shopping centre consisting of cafes, restaurants, shops and exhibition spaces nestling in the arches directly beneath the railway station.

The station itself has 17 platforms, making it the largest (by number of platforms) in England outside London. There are ten terminus platforms and seven through platforms. Retail facilities within the closed (gated) part of the station include Starbucks and Upper Crust, while there is a much wider retail offering on the North and South Concourses. This includes names such as Wetherspoons, Burger King, McDonalds, two branches of WH Smith, Boots, Upper Crust and a Marks & Spencer Simply Food store. A British Transport Police station is situated on New Station Street, housing officers who police the West Yorkshire railway stations.

Leeds station is of note in that it retained manned ticket barriers through the 1990s until 2008, when they were replaced by automatic barriers by Northern Rail to help improve the congestion around the barriers ar peak times.^[7][8] During this time barriers were removed from almost every British Rail station, although automatic barriers have now returned to many stations, particularly in London, the South and South Wales. Liverpool Lime Street was another station that retained manned barriers; both stations are characterised by a mix of suburban and long-distance services.

Platform usage varies depending on operational circumstances but is generally:

• 1–6 – Bays mostly used by MetroTrain services operated by Northern Rail, although some East Coast (EC) and other Northern services start and finish there. EC services between Skipton or Bradford Forster Square and London often reverse at these platforms.
• 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16 – through platforms. In general, EC services that don't terminate or reverse at Platform 6 use Platform 8. CrossCountry services heading North to York and beyond tend to depart from Platform 9 or 11; those heading South often use 12. Platforms 15 and 16 tend to be used by North/East and South/Westbound Transpennine Express services to Newcastle and York, and Huddersfield, Manchester Airport and Liverpool Lime Street respectively.
• 7, 14 – Bays generally used for local Northern services running North/East from Leeds.
• 10, 13, 17 – Bays generally used for local and regional Northern services running South/West to Sheffield and Nottingham.

Transport links

Leeds Interchange, located at the New Station Street exit, provides onward transport connections from the station. There are five bus stands serving Arriva, Centrebus and First routes 4, 5, 16, 16A, 19, 19A, 40, 40A, 85, 87, 90, 95, 757, 870 and DalesBus services. A 24 hour taxi rank also operates at the interchange.

Further bus stops are located on Neville Street below the station, as well as around City Square outside the station. Infirmary Street and Boar Lane Bus Points are a short walk for more bus connections.

Cycle hub

Leeds Interchange hosts one of the UK's first cycle hubs that allows a number of cycling services including repair, storage and rental. The facility opened in Summer 2010 and is designed to encourage visitors and commuters into Leeds to continue their journey from the station by bike.^[9] Its design is based on the Dutch cyclepoint concept.^[10]

History

Past railway stations

The railways first came to Leeds in 1834, when the Leeds and Selby Railway (which became part of the North Eastern Railway) opened its line. This had a terminus at Marsh Lane, to the east of the city centre. In 1840, the North Midland Railway (one of the original constituents of the Midland Railway) constructed its line from Derby via Rotherham to a terminus at Hunslet Lane, to the south. This was extended to a more centrally-located terminus at Wellington Street in 1846, known as Wellington Station.

Another station, Leeds Central (also situated on Wellington Street), was opened in 1854 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway and the London and North Western Railway, or LNWR. This station was eventually owned jointly by the LNWR and the North Eastern Railway, but other companies also had powers to run trains there, including the Great Northern Railway and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.

In 1869 a station called New Station opened as a joint enterprise by the LNWR and the North Eastern Railway. This connected the former Leeds and Selby Railway line to the east with the LNWR lines to the west. A mile-long connection was built, carried entirely on viaducts and bridges. New Station itself was built partially on a bridge over the River Aire. It was situated adjacent to Wellington station.

The map to the right shows the variety of different railway lines in Leeds in 1913. Following the 1921 Railways Act, when railways in Great Britain were grouped into four companies, New Station remained jointly-operated, but now by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER).

1938 rebuilding

The first rationalisation occurred in 1938, when two stations (New and Wellington) were combined to form Leeds City Station. The third station, Central, was unaffected by the change. Part of Wellington station became a parcels depot. This project also saw the construction of the North Concourse and the Queens Hotel.

1962 British Railways House

In 1962 British Railways House (now City House) was added to the station. This was designed by the subsequently disgraced architect John Poulson, (who also designed Leeds International Swimming Pool as well as many other railway stations). This provided British Railways with administrative buildings. In recent years the buildings have become dated and hard to let. The buildings are currently unoccupied, and are expected to be refurbished in 2009 and let as offices. The building was famously lambasted by poet, John Betjeman in 1967, stating they blocked all of the light out of City Square, and the building was just a testament to money with no architectural merit.

1967 rebuilding

In 1967 a further remodelling of the site took place, when all traffic using Central station was diverted into the City station with it becoming the single main railway station serving the city. Central station was closed and has since been demolished. The viaduct leading to Central is one of many such disused viaducts visible near Leeds station. A huge amount of engineering work was involved, including the replacement of 100-year-old bridges over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the construction of a new concourse and an overall roof. At the time of this rebuilding, the station was served by 500 trains on a typical day, with 2.75 million passenger journeys a year.

2002 rebuilding

By the 1990s, the station's capacity was exceeded on a daily basis, and the 1967 design was deemed inadequate. Between 1999 and 2002, a major rebuilding project took place, branded as Leeds 1st. This project saw the construction of additional approach tracks at the western end of the station, improving efficiency by separating trains travelling to or from different destinations and preventing them from having to cross each other's routes. The station was expanded from 12 to 17 platforms, with the construction of new platforms on the south side, and reopening of the now-disused parcels depot to passengers on the north side. The majority of the track, points and signals were also replaced. The most visible change to passengers, however, was the replacement of the 1967 metal canopy with a new glass roof, considerably increasing the amount of daylight on the platforms. A new footbridge was also provided, replacing the previous underpass. Ancillary improvements include a new multi-storey car park and station entrance, refurbishing the North Concourse and expanding retail facilities.

A small temporary station called Leeds Whitehall was provided to handle some services while the station was being remodelled. This has now been demolished.

2008 work

In 2008 work started on the ticket control at Leeds station. In place of the human controlled ticket checking, the station has introduced walk through automated ticket gates in order to speed up the throughput of passengers. The gates came into operation at the end of October but suffered from several faults including accepting invalid tickets.^[11] An oversight on the part of Northern also meant that the gates were not compatible with West Yorkshire Metro Cards.^[12]

Future

Passenger numbers are expected to surge by 63% by 2029, meaning further expansion is necessary.^[13]

Southern entrance

Construction will shortly commence on a new £15 million southern entrance to the station to allow for easier access to the station from the south.^[14] The new entrance will enable passengers to access the main footbridge of City station from Granary Wharf. A ticket office will open in the new entrance.

Expansion

Plans are also being drawn up to expand Leeds station's rail capacity once again, with new lines and platforms due to be built alongside platform one in the current Riverside Car Park (formerly the site of the original Leeds Wellington station) in order to cater for predicted growth.

Southern Concourse

Network Rail plans to improve the most dated part of the station, the Southern Concourse, by opening up the skylights to allow natural light to flood in. The first phase of works will aim to reduce congestion on the concourse. Consideration will also be given to a mezzanine level for more retail units.

Services

The station is served by a number of train operators, including East Coast, CrossCountry, TransPennine Express, Northern Rail and East Midlands Trains. It is also the hub of the MetroTrain network in West Yorkshire, being the terminus of the following lines:

• The Leeds branch of the East Coast Main Line
• Midland Main Line
• Airedale Line
• Caldervale Line
• Hallam Line
• Harrogate Line
• Huddersfield Line
• Pontefract Line
• Wakefield Line
• Wharfedale Line
• York & Selby Lines

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Wakefield Westgate		CrossCountry Cross Country Route		York
Wakefield Westgate		East Coast East Coast Main Line		Terminus
Wakefield Westgate		East Coast East Coast Main Line		Harrogate
Wakefield Westgate		East Coast East Coast Main Line		Shipley
Terminus		East Coast Leeds-Aberdeen		York
Wakefield Westgate		East Midlands Trains Midland Main Line		Terminus
Dewsbury		First TransPennine Express North TransPennine		Garforth
Huddersfield		First TransPennine Express North TransPennine		York
Terminus		Northern Rail Airedale Line		Shipley
Terminus		Northern Rail Leeds-Bradford Line		Shipley
Terminus		Northern Rail Settle-Carlisle Line		Shipley
Terminus		Northern Rail Leeds-Morecambe Line		Shipley
Terminus		Northern Rail Harrogate Line		Burley Park
Terminus		Northern Rail Wharfedale Line		Guiseley
New Pudsey		Northern Rail York-Blackpool North Line		Cross Gates
Bramley		Northern Rail Selby-Wakefield Westgate via Halifax & Huddersfield		Cross Gates
Bramley		Northern Rail Caldervale Line		Terminus
Woodlesford		Northern Rail Hallam Line		Terminus
Woodlesford		Northern Rail Pontefract Line		Terminus
Cottingley		Northern Rail Huddersfield Line		Terminus
Outwood		Northern Rail Wakefield Line		Terminus
Wakefield Kirkgate		Northern Rail Leeds-Nottingham		Terminus

Leeds Lines - Past and Present

Legend To Harrogate To Mitford To Ilkley To Castleford To Keighley Wetherby;To York;Ledston Guiseley Micklefield Apperley Bridge Collingham Bridge;Kippax Arthington Bardsey Calverley & Rodley Thorner;East Garforth Horsforth;Horsforth Scholes;Garforth Kirkstall Forge Kirkstall;Headingley Cross Gates Armley Canal Raod;Burley Park Marsh Lane Leeds Central Leeds Wellington; Leeds City; Hunslet Goods Hunslet Lane; Hunslet Goods Holbeck Whitehall Hunslet Woodlesford Copley Hill Armley & Wortley;Beeston Methley Bramley To Castleford Farnley & Wortley Stanningley;Pudsey Lowtown New Pudsey;Pudsey Greenside To Bradford;To Bradford Cottingley To Bradford Churwell Gildersome East Morley Low Ardsley Drighlington & Adwalton; Tingley To Wakefield Gildersome West Morley Top To Batley Woodkirk To Heckmondwike To Batley To Batley

References

External links

• Station information on Leeds railway station from Network Rail

• Train times and station information for Leeds railway station from National Rail

Leeds Topics Architecture • Buildings • Economy • History • Transport Culture Media • Music • Nightlife • Shopping • Sport Places List of towns, villages, areas and suburbs Government City of Leeds • Leeds City Council People List of people from Leeds

Railway stations in West Yorkshire MetroTrain lines ■ Airedale · ■ Caldervale · ■ Dearne Valley · ■ Hallam · ■ Harrogate · ■ Huddersfield · ■ Leeds-Bradford · ■ Penistone · ■ Pontefract · ■ Wakefield · ■ Wharfedale · ■ York & Selby City of Bradford Baildon · Ben Rhydding · Bingley · Bradford Forster Square · Bradford Interchange · Burley-in-Wharfedale · Crossflatts · Frizinghall · Ilkley · Keighley · Menston · Saltaire · Shipley · Steeton and Silsden Calderdale Brighouse · Halifax · Hebden Bridge · Mytholmroyd · Sowerby Bridge · Todmorden · Walsden Kirklees Batley · Berry Brow · Brockholes · Deighton · Denby Dale · Dewsbury · Honley · Huddersfield · Lockwood · Marsden · Mirfield · Ravensthorpe · Shepley · Slaithwaite · Stocksmoor City of Leeds Bramley · Burley Park · Cottingley · Cross Gates · East Garforth · Garforth · Guiseley · Headingley · Horsforth · Leeds · Micklefield · Morley · New Pudsey · Woodlesford City of Wakefield Castleford · Featherstone · Fitzwilliam · Glasshoughton · Knottingley · Moorthorpe · Normanton · Outwood · Pontefract Baghill · Pontefract Monkhill · Pontefract Tanshelf · Sandal and Agbrigg · South Elmsall · Streethouse · Wakefield Kirkgate · Wakefield Westgate Outside West Yorkshire, but within the West Yorkshire Metro area Darton

Major railway stations in Britain Managed by Network Rail: Birmingham New Street Edinburgh Waverley Gatwick Airport Glasgow Central Leeds Liverpool Lime Street Manchester Piccadilly Managed by train operator: Brighton Bristol Parkway Bristol Temple Meads Cardiff Central Cardiff Queen Street Crewe Doncaster Glasgow Queen Street Manchester Victoria Newcastle Nottingham Reading Sheffield Southampton Central York Railway stations of London: Central area Greater London Managed by Network Rail: Cannon Street Charing Cross Euston Fenchurch Street King's Cross Liverpool Street London Bridge Paddington St Pancras Victoria Waterloo Managed by train operator: Blackfriars Clapham Junction City Thameslink Marylebone Moorgate Stratford Waterloo East