New platform to be delivered at Leeds Station as part of £161m investment

A new platform is set to be development at Leeds Station as part of a £161m investment programme. 

Network Rail announced that ‘platform zero’ will form part of the major investment in the station’s rail infrastructure that will also see improvements to the track alignment for more efficient journeys into platforms 1-6, as well as an upgrade to the signalling across the entire station, in a boost to train service reliability.

Platforms 1-6 will also be lengthened to cater for longer trains with more seats.

Another project, funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, will see the partial pedestrianisation of New Station Street to ease congestion and improve the flow of people at the entrance of the station.

These last two announcements follow on from the confirmation that the wooden ceiling panels in the South Concourse are to be replaced by a transparent, plastic roof that will allow natural light to flood the station.

The number of long stay car parking spaces at Leeds will also be reduced in phases from December until May 2019 to allow space for platform zero.

The long stay car park will eventually close completely until the platform is built in 2021, with Network Rail working alongside Leeds City Council to promote alternative parking sites.

Rob McIntosh, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “Together this trio of projects are the biggest investment in the station since Leeds First in the early 2000s, and I am delighted that they will start delivering benefits for passengers and the city as early as next autumn.

“There will inevitably be changes to peoples’ usual walking routes and routines during construction and we will do everything we can to keep people moving efficiently and safely, in eager anticipation of a noticeably improved station upon completion.”

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