Thousands pass through Leeds' new £20m station entrance

The new £20m entrance, which was designed to make it easier for passengers to reach platforms, opened on Sunday, January 3 and provides access to the south of the city and the Dark Arches.

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Station bosses say the entrance has had a steady increase in users throughout the week and peaked on Thursday, January 7 - when more than 4,000 people passed through.

Helen Dawson, Network Rail station manager, said: “The feedback we have had from customers has been excellent and as we expected, the number of passengers using the entrance has increased as more people realise that it is now open.

“The entrance will save over five minutes per journey for those working to the south of the city, which adds up to nearly an hour a week, and is also helping to reduce congestion in other parts of the station.”

The southern entrance forms part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan and includes steps, lifts and escalators.

Leeds railway station is the country’s second busiest outside of London and more than 100,000 communitys pass through it every day.

Coun Peter Box, West Yorkshire Combined Authority chairman, said: “I am pleased to hear that people are starting to use the new entrance.

“It has been designed to save journey time for the large proportion of Leeds station users who get off the train and head for the city centre’s fast-growing south bank area.

“We have been out providing passengers with directions and information about the new entrance and it will take a while for everyone to adjust but I am confident we will see these figures grow.”

Has the new station cut your travel time? email [email protected]