Leeds railway station

Main article: Leeds Blitz

In March 1941, the Luftwaffe launched attacks on Leeds, Armley, Beeston and Bramley. Leeds New Station was one of the primary targets, along with the Town Hall, Kirkgate Markets, the Central Post office, the Quarry Hill flats, Hotel Metropole and part of the Inner Ring Road. The station was bombed, causing an unknown number of casualties, and was later rebuilt.

The Transport Act 1947 nationalised nearly all forms of mass transport in Great Britain and came into effect on 1 January 1948. ^[15] British Railways came into existence as the business name of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC) on 1 January 1948.

1962 British Railways House

Main article: City House

In 1962, British Railways House, now City House, was added to the railway station. It was designed by architect John Poulson providing British Railways with administrative buildings. The building became dated and hard to let before refurbishment in 2009. The building was lambasted in 1967 by poet John Betjeman who said it blocked all the light out of City Square, and was a testament to money with no architectural merit. In 2010 the building was bought by property company Bruntwood which is (as of 2017) redeveloping it to provide serviced offices, with a new look to the façade.

1967 rebuilding

In 1967, further remodelling of the site took place and trains using Central Railway Station were diverted into the City Railway Station which became the main railway station serving the city. Central Railway Station was closed and has been demolished. The viaduct leading to Central Railway Station is one of many disused viaducts near Leeds Railway Station. Engineering work included replacing 100-year-old bridges over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the construction of the south concourse and an overall roof, along with major platform and track layout alterations and the commissioning of a new power signal box to control the railway station area.

At the time of this rebuilding, the railway station was served by 500 trains on a typical day, with 2.75 million passenger journeys a year. Wellington (or City North) became entirely devoted to parcels traffic at this time with the track layout extensively changed. The remaining Midland line trains which previously used City North station were diverted into the City South station, the former LNWR/NER 'New' station, and called simply Leeds from this time.

Electrification

The station had overhead electrification installed under the ownership of British Rail in 1988, to facilitate usage of the new Class 91 services on the East Coast main line. ^[16]

2002 rebuilding

Platforms three to five in February 2006

Outer platforms in October 2015

By the 1990s, the railway 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 railway station, improving efficiency by separating trains travelling to or from different destinations and preventing them from having to cross each other's routes. The railway station was expanded from 12 to 17 platforms, with the construction of new platforms on the south side, and reopening of the disused parcels depot to passengers on the north side.

The majority of the track, points and signals were also replaced and the 1967 power box closed – control being handed over to the signalling centre at York. 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 included a new multi-storey car park and railway station entrance, refurbishing the North Concourse and expanding retail facilities.

A small temporary railway station called Leeds Whitehall was provided to handle some services while the railway station was being remodelled. This was used between September 1999 and February 2002. ^[17]

2008 work

In 2008, automated ticket gates were installed in place of the human-controlled ticket checking, to speed up the passage of passengers. When the gates came into operation at the end of October 2008, they suffered from several faults including accepting expired tickets. ^[18] An oversight on the part of Northern also meant that the gates were not compatible with West Yorkshire Metro Cards. ^[19]

Southern entrance

A £17.3 million southern entrance to allow for easier access from the south completed on 3 January 2016. ^{[20] [21]} It widens the railway station's western footbridge and provides escalators, stairs and lifts to a partial deck over the River Aire in an iconic structure. The deck provides access to either side of the river for passengers to access Granary Wharf and Little Neville Street or Holbeck. It contains extra ticket vending machines and cycle storage. Around 20% ^[20] of passengers are expected to use the new entrance. ^{[22] [23]}

South concourse and platform zero

Work on a new terminal platform alongside platform 1 (labelled platform 0) began in late 2018 and was completed in January 2021. ^{[24] [25]}

In November 2018 Network Rail began work to improve the south concourse. The first phase of works aimed to reduce congestion by moving and expanding ticket barriers. A new transparent roof was installed, matching the design at the Southern entrance, with works completed in October 2019. ^{[26] [27]}

Accidents and incidents

• 13 January 1892, a fire broke out in the arches underneath the station carrying the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The fire burnt for two days, with the heat buckling the rails and causing significant damage to the permanent way. One person died when a platform collapsed underneath him. ^[28]
• On 23 July 1993, a passenger train ran into the rear of another occupying a platform. Twenty-one people were injured. ^[29]
• On 17 April 1997 a small bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army exploded at a relay cabinet near the station, causing the city centre's closure for six hours. ^{[30] [31]}

Leeds
The New Station Street entrance in August 2022
General information
Other names	Leeds City
Location	Leeds, City of Leeds England
Coordinates	53°47′38″N1°32′49″W / 53.794°N 1.547°W / 53.794; -1.547
Grid reference	SE299331
Managed by	Network Rail
Transit authority	West Yorkshire Metro
Platforms	18 - numbered 0-17 (National Rail)
Other information
Station code	LDS
Fare zone	1
Classification	DfT category A
History
Opened	2 May 1938 Rebuilt 1967 Rebuilt 2002
Passengers
2018/19	30.839 million

Leeds railway station is the second-busiest railway station outside London in the United Kingdom, ^[32] being a very busy railway station, expansion is needed. Passenger numbers at Leeds are expected to surge by 63% by 2029, meaning further expansion is necessary. ^[33]

Future remodelling

In October 2017, it was proposed that the station could be remodelled for the proposed HS2 scheme. The proposal includes new platforms on the northside of Leeds as well as HS2 services running into the existing east–west platforms as well as the proposed terminal platforms allowing links to proposed 'Northern Powerhouse Rail'. ^[34] In November 2017, details were released about how the station might look. ^[35]

Expansion

Plans are being drawn up to expand the railway station's capacity with new lines and platforms alongside platform one in the Riverside Car Park on the site of the original Leeds Wellington railway station to cater for predicted growth. Also Metro announced plans to replace platform 1 with three separate platforms using the car park next to it. This would increase platform numbers from 17 to 20.

HS2 platforms

A graphical mock-up showing how the proposed HS2 platforms (blue) were to be joined to the existing Leeds station platforms (pink).

The original plans for High Speed 2 proposed a separate new station in Leeds to the south of the River Aire at New Lane. ^{[36] [37]} However, a later review in November 2015 instead recommends that HS2 platforms be added to the existing station. ^[38] These would attach to the southern part of the existing station building, and span the river in a north–south alignment to create a 'T' shape.

Whilst not directly linking the rail lines, it will allow a common concourse for easy interchange between high speed and classic rail services. These plans were approved by the Government in November 2016. ^{[39] [40]}

However, on 18 November 2021, Grant Shapps (Transport Secretary) announced that the eastern leg of HS2 would be cancelled, terminating at East Midlands Parkway instead of going all the way to Leeds. ^[41] Eventually, the leg reaching East Midlands Parkway was scrapped too, with no new track north of Birmingham Curzon Street. ^[42]

Services

Northern Trains Route 7
v t e
Settle & Carlisle & Bentham lines
Carlisle Armathwaite Lazonby & Kirkoswald Langwathby Appleby Kirkby Stephen Garsdale Dent Ribblehead Horton-in-Ribblesdale Settle Heysham Port Morecambe Bare Lane Lancaster Carnforth Wennington Bentham Clapham Giggleswick Long Preston Hellifield Gargrave Skipton Keighley Bingley Shipley Leeds

Northern Trains Route 9
v t e
Calder Valley Line and East Lancashire Line
York Ulleskelf Church Fenton Micklefield East Garforth Garforth Cross Gates Leeds Bramley New Pudsey Bradford Interchange Low Moor Halifax Sowerby Bridge Mytholmroyd Hebden Bridge Manchester Victoria Moston Mills Hill Castleton Rochdale Smithy Bridge Littleborough Walsden Todmorden Colne Nelson Brierfield Burnley Central Burnley Barracks Burnley Manchester Road Rose Grove Hapton Huncoat Accrington Church and Oswaldtwistle Rishton Blackburn Mill Hill Cherry Tree Pleasington Bamber Bridge Lostock Hall Preston Salwick Kirkham and Wesham Poulton-le-Fylde Blackpool North Moss Side Lytham Ansdell and Fairhaven St Annes-on-the-Sea Squires Gate Blackpool Pleasure Beach Blackpool South
Burnley Barracks, Hapton and Pleasington are request stops.

The railway station is served by long-distance services operated by CrossCountry, London North Eastern Railway and TransPennine Express, as well as local and regional services operated by Northern. It is the hub of the Metro network in West Yorkshire. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) and trains per day (tpd) is

London North Eastern Railway

• 2 tph to London King's Cross
• 1 tp2h to Harrogate
• 2 tpd to Bradford Forster Square
• 1 tpd to Skipton
• 1 tpd to Aberdeen

CrossCountry

• 1 tph to Edinburgh, with 1 tpd continuing to Glasgow Central and 1 tpd continuing to Aberdeen ^[43]
• 1 tph to Plymouth, with 2 tpd continuing to Penzance ^[44]

TransPennine Express

• 1 tph to Newcastle
• 8 tpd to Scarborough ^[45]
• 1 tph to Saltburn via Middlesbrough
• 1 tph to Hull
• 1 tph to Liverpool Lime Street via Manchester Victoria ^[46]
• 1 tph to Manchester Piccadilly
• 1 tph to Manchester Airport

Northern Trains

• 2 tph to Skipton (the Airedale line)
• 2 tph to Ilkley (the Wharfedale line)
• 2 tph to Bradford Forster Square
• 1 tp2h to Morecambe
• 1 tp2h to Carlisle, via the Settle–Carlisle line
• 1 tph to Blackpool North, via Bradford Interchange, Blackburn and Preston
• 3 tph to Manchester via the Calder Valley line:
  • 1 tph terminating at Manchester Victoria, via Bradford Interchange (semi-fast)
  • 1 tph to Chester, via Bradford Interchange
  • 1 tph to Wigan Wallgate, via Brighouse
• 1 tph to Halifax ^[47]
• 1 tph to Nottingham (semi-fast)
• 3 tph to Sheffield via the Hallam line:
  • 1 tph terminating at Sheffield, via Castleford (stopping)
  • 1 tph continuing to Nottingham (semi-fast)
  • 1 tph continuing to Lincoln (semi-fast)
• 1 tph to Sheffield via Wakefield Westgate
• 1 tph to Doncaster
• 2 tph to Knottingley:
  • 1 tph via Castleford, with 1 tpd continuing to Goole
  • 1 tph via Wakefield Westgate
• 1 tph to Hull ^[48]
• 2 tph to York via Garforth (one fast, one stopping)
• 2 tph to York via Harrogate

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Wakefield Westgate		CrossCountry Cross Country Route		York
		London North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line		Terminus
				Horsforth
				Shipley
				Keighley
				York
Huddersfield		TransPennine Express North TransPennine		York
Dewsbury
Batley				Garforth
Cottingley				Terminus
Terminus		Northern Wharfedale Line		Guiseley
		Northern Airedale Line		Shipley
		Northern Settle-Carlisle Line
		Northern Leeds-Morecambe Line
		Northern Leeds-Bradford Line		Kirkstall Forge
		Northern Harrogate Line		Burley Park
New Pudsey		Northern Blackpool North–York		Church Fenton
New Pudsey		Northern Calder Valley line		Terminus
Morley
Bramley
Bramley		Northern Halifax–Hull		Cross Gates
Woodlesford		Northern Hallam Line		Terminus
Woodlesford		Northern Pontefract Line
Outwood		Northern Wakefield Line
Wakefield Kirkgate		Northern Leeds–Nottingham
		Northern Leeds–Lincoln

Former services

East Midlands Railway (EMR) and its predecessors operated a number of services to and from London St Pancras via the Midland Main Line until May 2022. Two evening northbound and two morning southbound services operated primarily to cycle InterCity 125 sets through Neville Hill TMD. ^[49] After EMR withdrew its last InterCity 125 sets in May 2021, the service was reduced to a single northbound service operated by a Class 222. It was withdrawn in May 2022. ^[50]

v t e Leeds Lines
Legend
Past, present and future
to Ilkley York and Selby Lines to Church Fenton ROF Thorp Arch York and Selby Lines to Church Fenton Thorp Arch Circular Railway Thorp Arch Harrogate Line to Harrogate York and Selby Lines to Selby Otley Micklefield Pool Wetherby Racecourse Harrogate Line to Harrogate Wetherby (York Road) Menston Wakefield Lines to Castleford Arthington Ledston Golden Acre Park Rly Wetherby High Royds Hospital Railway East Leeds Parkway /Roman Road to Shipley Bowers Halt to Shipley Collingham Bridge Apperley Bridge Kippax Guiseley Bardsey Calverley & Rodley East Garforth Yeadon Thorner Leeds Bradford Airport (proposed) Aberford Newlay and Horsforth Garforth Horsforth HS2 to York Kirkstall Forge Scholes Horsforth Woodside Barnbow ROF Kirkstall Abbey Manston (1851–1869) Headingley HS2 to Methley Kirkstall Bridge Road Penda's Way Kirkstall Cross Gates Burley Park Halton Dial (1851–1864) Armley Mills Museum Osmondthorpe Royal Gardens (Summer 1857) Cardigan Lane Goods Armley Canal Road Hunslet Goods (NER) Montague's Field Marsh Lane Wellington Street Goods Hunslet Goods (GNR) Leeds Central Leeds Wellington Holbeck Leeds (New Station) Whitehall Junction New Lane (HS2) Holbeck Junction Hunslet Swing Bridge Leeds Whitehall Farnley Viaduct Whitehall Road Goods Cassons Close (MR) Copley Hill Kidacre Street (MR) Wortley West Curve Hunslet Lane Armley and Wortley Middleton Old Run Farnley & Wortley Hunslet Bramley Moor Road Beeston Balm Road Sidings Stanningley GNR Hunslet Goods Branch Pudsey Lowtown Middleton River Branch ca. 1755–1809 New Pudsey Park Halt Pudsey Greenside Leeds Freightliner terminal to Bradford via Laisterdyke Jane Pit (MR) to Shipley via Idle Stourton Junction Tingley Ardsley to Dudley Hill Rothwell Farnley Branch Robin Hood to Bradford via Laisterdyke Woodkirk Cottingley to Newmarket Colliery Churwell to Batley' Gildersome East Woodlesford Morley Low Outwood Morley Top HS2 to Garforth Gildersome West Methley to Huddersfield to Wakefield to Batley HS2 to Crofton Drighlington & Adwalton Methley Junction to Batley Methley South Wakefield Lines to Normanton via Altofts Wakefield Lines to Castleford Cutsyke to Dudley Hill Wakefield Lines to Castleford

See also

• Listed buildings in Leeds (City and Hunslet Ward - northern area)

References

1. "Leeds Station". Network Rail Virtual Archive. Network Rail. 7 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
2. "Leeds Railway Station". Railway-Technology. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
3. "Automatic ticket gates at Leeds City Station".
4. "leedsliveitloveit". leedsliveitloveit. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
5. "Commercial information". Our Stations. London: Network Rail. April 2014. Archived from the original on 10 April 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
6. "ORR Statistics 2022-23" (PDF).
7. "ORR Statistics 2022-23" (PDF).
8. Yonge, John (September 2006) [1994]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 2: Eastern (3rd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 37A. ISBN   0-9549866-2-8.
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11. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
12. Dawson, Anthony (2018). The early railways of Leeds. Stroud. ISBN   978-1-4456-6781-2. OCLC   1064104121.
13. Measom J. (1861) Official illustrated guide to the Great Northern Railway.
14. Burt, Steven (1994). The illustrated history of Leeds. Kevin Grady. Derby: Breedon. pp. 141, 169, 172, 249. ISBN   1-873626-35-5. OCLC   60077045.
15. Her Majesty's Government (1947). "Transport Act 1947". The Railways Archive. (originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office). Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2006.
16. East Coast Main Line Rail Route Upgrading, United Kingdom
17. Quick, Michael (2020). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain; a Chronology (PDF) (5 ed.). Market Drayton: Railway & Canal Historical Society. p. 261. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
18. "Barriers accept wrong tickets". BBC News . 18 November 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
19. "Your Views: The problems with Leeds railway station's new ticket barrier". Yorkshire Evening Post . 30 October 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
20. "New station entrance given approval" (Press release). 31 October 2013. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
21. "Leeds Rail Station - new southern entrance (LSSE)".
22. "Have your say on Leeds Station Southern Entrance plans" (Press release). 2 December 2011. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
23. "£500m blueprint to transform Leeds Station revealed". 11 October 2017.
24. "Brand new Platform Zero to be built at Leeds train station as hundreds of car parking spaces disappear" Johnson, K Leeds Live news article 16 November 2018; Retrieved 31 January 2020
25. Jagger, David (7 January 2021). "£161m improvement work at Leeds train station completed". Telegraph & Argus . Retrieved 7 January 2021.
26. Holden, Alan (11 October 2019). "Leeds Station, more improvements to come following roof replacement". RailAdvent.
27. "Leeds station improvements". Network Rail. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
28. Steel, Wilfrid L (1914). The History of the London & North Western Railway. London: The Railway and Travel Monthly. p. 441. OCLC   1063588438.
29. "Collision at Plymouth station 3 April 2016" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Rail Accident Investigation Branch. February 2017. p. 35. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
30. McKittrick, David (19 April 1997). "Our chaos strategy is working, says IRA". The Independent.
31. "IRA brings Britain to a halt". An Phoblacht. 24 April 1997.
32. "ORR Station usage 2022–23" (PDF). Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
33. "Network Rail unveils plans for Leeds station | Global Rail News". Rail.co. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
34. "Investment to improve high speed rail links - Yorkshire Post". Archived from the original on 13 October 2017.
35. "Images reveal how remodelled Leeds station could look". 6 November 2017.
36. "Phase Two: Leeds". HS2. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
37. "HS2 plan and profile maps: Woodlesford to Hunslet and Hunslet to Leeds New Lane Station". GOV.UK. HS2 Ltd. 27 April 2016.
38. "The Yorkshire Hub" (PDF). Department for Transport. p. 10. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
39. "HS2: North West and Yorkshire routes confirmed". BBC News. 15 November 2016.
40. High Speed Two: Crewe to Manchester, West Midlands to Leeds and beyond. Department for Transport. November 2016. ISBN   9781474137980 . Retrieved 18 March 2022.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
41. "HS2 rail leg to Leeds scrapped, Grant Shapps confirms". The Guardian. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
42. "HS2 to only reach West Midlands".
43. "CrossCountry December 2023-June 2024 Timetable" (PDF).
44. "CrossCountry December 2023-June 2024 Timetable" (PDF).
45. "TransPennine Express Leeds-Scarborough/Newcastle Central Timetable December 2023-June 2024".
46. "TransPennine Express Liverpool Lime Street/Manchester Piccadilly-Newcastle Central/Hull Paragon via Leeds Timetable December 2023-June 2024".
47. "Northern Trains December 2023-June 2024 Timetable".
48. "Northern Trains December 2023-June 2024 Timetable".
49. Timetable 18 August 2019 East Midlands Railway
50. Cautious changes for post Covid era Modern Railways issue 884 May 2022 page 63

Further reading

• Haigh, Phil (25 February – 10 March 1998). "A station for the 21st century...". Rail . No. 325. EMAP Apex Publications. pp. 20–24. ISSN   0953-4563. OCLC   49953699.

External links

• Train times and station information for Leeds railway station from National Rail
• https://web.archive.org/web/20160805024619/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/virtualarchive/leeds-station/ – history of the station from Network Rail archives