Major redevelopment of Leeds railway station moves forward

A MAJOR redevelopment of Leeds station will be moved forward after Sir David Higgins was appointed to produce an interim report for the Government.

George Osborne announced the proposals on a visit to Leeds yesterday as part of a package of transport infrastructure investments, which also included improvements to the East Coast Main Line and electrification of the Selby-Hull railway line.

Sir David Higgins, who is responsible for delivering HS2, has been asked to explore the options for a major redevelopment of Leeds station to prepare for the arrival of high speed rail and present his findings in the autumn.

Leeds is the second-busiest station outside of London – in part because most other major cities have more than one city centre station – and handles more than 27m passengers a year.

Mr Osborne said: “Already one of the busiest rail stations in the country, with the arrival of high speed rail, this city could be transformed. A Leeds station regeneration board has already been established to look at how to maximise the benefit to the whole city.”

He added: “HS2, and now delivering a plan for HS3, will revolutionise connections across the north of England.

“This in turn will deliver a major boost to the economies of our great northern cities, and I want to make sure we seize every benefit of these once-in-a-generation infrastructure projects.”

Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan, speaking at The Met Club’s event on the Northern Powerhouse immediately after hearing the Chancellor’s announcements, welcomed the step forward with the city’s train station and said he would “look forward to real action coming forward in the next few months”.

He said: “It’s good news in terms of the Chancellor recognising what a lot of businesses and people have said, that Leeds station needs a major upgrade. We have 100,000 people going through it every day. It’s the busiest station in the north and in the top 10 in the country. We need a station that’s fit for the best city in the UK, which is our ambition.”

Mr Osborne also announced that the Department for Transport and Network Rail are to develop a business case for the infrastructure improvements that would enable trains to run at 140mph running on the East Coast Main Line.

East-west train links are to be improved too, continuing the Liverpool-Hull electrification project by investing in the Selby to Hull line.