Six years to expand Leeds rail station, or risk ‘failure’, document claims

That’s the verdict of a new report, set to go before regional decision-makers this week.

It adds that the station was already at capacity for passenger numbers and would “fail” by 2026, impacting services and “constraining” economic growth in the city.

The Leeds councillor in charge of the city’s transport warned that the station was at “breaking point” in terms of its capacity, and that work needed to take place soon.

The report is set to be discussed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) transport committee – a regional board which makes decisions on large infrastructure and transport projects.

It reads: “The station is at capacity in terms of passenger numbers and will fail by 2026 impacting services and constraining growth. £8 million needs approving this year to continue our partnership to develop an outline business case to meet forecast growth requirements and plan how to deliver this in a phased manner.

“This is business critical to achieving a sustainable travel hub.”

Lisa Mulherin is Leeds City Council’s executive member for transport. She echoed the urgency of WYCA’s report.

“Unlike a lot of other cities, Leeds only has one city centre train station,” she said. “It is essential to the city.

“We are in a strange situation at the moment with lockdown, but we anticipate the growth in passenger numbers will increase. It’s already at capacity, and this creates public safety issues – we are at breaking point in terms of capacity.”

Coun Mulherin added the number of annual passengers could more than double over the next 25 years to 70 million per annum.

The claims come as work continues on the new “platform zero” at the station, expected to open next year.

However, the report predicts “urgent” work is needed to revamp capacity at the facility in the coming years, as passenger numbers are expected to increase by more than a third in just six years.

It states: “Track and platform capacity at and around Leeds station is severely constrained and a bottleneck which impacts the local, regional and national network. Network Rail have identified potential interventions that are required to deliver future train services and support economic growth to 2043.

“Leeds railway station is the busiest station in the North of England and is an important transport hub in this region. The station serves inter-city services to London, is an important stop on the Cross-Country network to Scotland, Midlands and Southwest England and it serves major Northern destinations including services to Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.

“It is also an important commuter station for local services, 80 percent of services in the West Yorkshire area originate or terminate in Leeds Station.

“The number of rail passengers travelling to Leeds is predicted to increase by 34% by 2026 and by 81 percent to 2043. It is forecasted that the station will reach capacity by 2026 and urgent intervention is required to ensure this does not become a barrier to regional growth.”

In November 2017, the Leeds Integrated Station Masterplan (LISM) was

published outlining proposals for redeveloping the station.

It added a programme of planned works was also developed, focussing on resolving capacity issues, and helping to accommodate planned future projects such as HS2.

This was submitted to the Department for Transport in December 2019, and seeks approval for the funding to help develop plans for the site. WYCA claims it is still waiting for a decision from the Government.

The document will be discussed by WYCA’s transport committee on Friday, July, 3.