Leeds station to get £200m more for a £303m upgrade by 2030

By the TrainsNews newsroom · 29 October 2026

Leeds station will get a further £200 million, bringing total investment in its upgrade to £303 million, the UK government announced on 28 October 2026. The works, due to be completed by 2030, include a new central overbridge, three new entrances and a longer platform 14.

What will be built

According to the Department for Transport, the upgrade includes:

• a new overbridge across the middle of the station;
• three new entrances, improving access to the South Bank, the Dark Arches and Princes Square;
• nearly 40% more ticket barriers;
• more lift capacity and more concourse space;
• a longer platform 14.

Why Leeds

The government says Leeds is the third busiest station in the UK outside London, handling over 27 million passengers a year. Eight in ten West Yorkshire rail services start or end there, and passenger numbers are forecast to grow by almost 12 million a year by 2043. The station upgrade is presented as preparing the ground for the £11 billion Transpennine Route Upgrade, which aims to increase capacity by 30% and electrify key routes.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called the station "the gateway to West Yorkshire". The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, described it as the "beating heart" of the region's transport network.

Our expert view

At a busy through station, the bottleneck is often not only the tracks but the movement of people. A central overbridge and more entrances spread passengers across the platforms, which can shorten the time trains spend at the station. A longer platform allows longer trains to call. Whether this turns into more trains per hour will also depend on the track and signalling work planned under the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

Source: Department for Transport, 28 October 2026.