Leeds City Station’s £46.1m Sustainable Travel Gateway is set to start opening in stages from October, as work on the revamped main entrance enters its final phase.
The project, delivered by Leeds City Council on Network Rail’s behalf and in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, is aiming to make the entrance safer, more accessible and more welcoming for everyone who passes through, while helping the station keep up with steadily rising demand for rail travel.
It’s been built alongside separate, essential Network Rail maintenance reinforcing the underground structure beneath New Station Street, which holds up much of the station above — a decision to combine the two jobs that’s saved money and cut disruption compared with tackling them separately.
Steps could be ready by October
Network Rail will take ownership of the finished scheme, but project partners are working to open parts of it ahead of full completion. The pedestrian plaza and connecting steps linking Bishopgate Street with New Station Street may be ready as soon as early-to-mid October.
Contractor Balfour Beatty is currently installing and testing two sets of lifts: one linking New Station Street and Bishopgate Street, giving level access between the pair and due to come into service around mid-October, allowing the taxi rank to move from Princes Square to Bishopgate Street; and a separate set serving the cycle hub beneath the station, expected to follow in late October.
Councillor James Lewis, Leader of Leeds City Council, said: “The station gateway scheme will create a safer and more welcoming and accessible environment for everyone using the station’s main entrance, and we have seen a real rise in the number of people catching the train to and from Leeds and the facilities need to keep pace. I know it’s taken time, however, Leeds City Station is built on a massive and historic set of Victorian brick arches which need maintaining and the two schemes have gone ahead together.”
Funding for the project comes from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transforming Cities Fund, aimed at making walking, cycling and public transport easier across the region.
