New stations for Leeds

[Saint66]

http://news.leeds.gov.uk/new-airpor...nal-270million-transport-proposals-for-leeds/

A new parkway rail station connecting to Leeds Bradford Airport forms part of transformational proposals to make £270million of improvements to transport in Leeds.

The announcement, along with two other new stations to be created in the city and additional rail network improvements, are the first details to be revealed ahead of an ambitious new transport strategy for Leeds being released tomorrow (Tuesday 6 December).

The new strategy is in response to the findings of the biggest-ever transport conversation held with residents, businesses, stakeholders and visitors in the city which included more than 8,000 people taking part in a recent survey.

The feedback has shown a desire for deliverable improvements to be made in the immediate to short term on improving public transport across the city. Trends show a need for better rail and bus services, a clear demand for additional park and ride services, congestion issues to be addressed along with improved accessibility to bring communities, businesses and jobs closer together to boost connectivity and the overall economy and productivity of Leeds.

The new parkway station would be built on the existing Leeds to Harrogate line, connecting to the wider rail network and serving and supporting the development of one of the fastest-growing regional airports in the UK which is used by 3.5million passengers a year and contributes £100m annually to the city region economy.

The new station would see jobs and employment opportunities created, and would also act as a park and ride station to be used by commuters to Leeds and Harrogate, boosting both economies. In addition it would remove cars from the highway network, in Leeds easing congestion issues in the north of the city and improving air quality.

Two other new stations are also proposed at White Rose Shopping Centre and Office Park to support retail, connectivity and employment and at Thorpe Park to support job creation and housing growth along the East Leeds Extension. This is part of an inclusive approach helping to connect people to growth points in the Leeds economy.

The new stations would be part-funded from the £173.5million of Department of Transport funding secured following the decision not to proceed with the New Generation Transport (NGT) trolleybus in May, with the funds needing to be invested in public transport before the end of 2021.

Support from West Yorkshire Combined Authority and private sector stakeholders increases the funding available to in excess of £270m for Leeds.

Together with a wide range of significant improvements proposed for other elements of transport in Leeds to be announced, the plans and new strategy have been hailed as “transformational” by the Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Judith Blake.

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Judith Blake said:

“These plans announced today and the full proposals and strategy to be released tomorrow represent a transformational step change for public transport in Leeds. Through the transport conversation we have been given a clear message that people want improvements to be made to benefit all areas of the city as soon as possible, not in another 10 or 15 years’ time but now. I am very pleased to say that everything we are putting forward in this plan is deliverable in the short to medium term.

“Providing a connection by rail to the airport has long been an ambition for the city and this plan will deliver it in a cost-effective way, along with two other new stations at the White Rose Shopping Centre and Thorpe Park to help drive forward job creation, productivity and economic growth. These plans all fit with the Department of Transport request that we invest the £173.5million in public transport improvements before the end of 2021, and I am delighted that together with additional funding proposed by stakeholders and private partners we can now do even more to improve transport in our city and make a real difference.”

The council and its partners will continue to consider options for a mass transit scheme for Leeds, but this will require significant additional investment and would not be deliverable by 2021.

Councillor Blake added:

“Options for a mass transit scheme are still very much under consideration, but it needs to be right for the whole city and the reality is such a scheme would need a lot more investment and would take a lot longer to deliver, whereas there is a clear priority need to deliver changes now in order to get Leeds moving.”

John Parkin, Leeds Bradford Airport Chief Executive, said:

“This announcement is fantastic news for the millions of passengers who travel to and from Leeds Bradford Airport each year. As one of the country’s fastest growing regional airports, it is vital that we give passengers more choice about how they are able to get here. Investing in the public transport network in this way will enable people to travel to and from the airport easily, as well as create jobs and help to ease road congestion in the area.

“We’re pleased that steps are being taken to implement this transformational project and we look forward to seeing it progress.”

Other improvements proposed for the rail network in Leeds would see access enhanced at Cross Gates, Morley and Horsforth stations and car park expansion at New Pudsey to increase its park and ride capacity. These upgrades will complement improved rail services to Leeds which will see increases in capacity through longer trains and more frequent services, especially at peak times. The outdated pacer units will also be withdrawn by 2020.

Work will also progress in the coming months on preparing the city for high-speed HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (formerly HS3), with the masterplan for the remodelled Leeds Station being developed by a world-renowned team including Hiro Aso, the lead architect behind the acclaimed redevelopment of King’s Cross in London. The masterplan will guide the revamp of Leeds Station into a distinctive modern destination and fully integrated national transport hub along with maximising the development opportunities surrounding the station and acting as a gateway to the city centre and South Bank Leeds.

Leeds Chamber of Commerce President Gerald Jennings said:

“The Chamber has always maintained that the city needs further investment to create a fully integrated transport network, so it is pleasing to see funded proposals for additional rail halts and park and rides across the city which in turn will aid economic growth and connect businesses conveniently to the widest possible workforce.”

The new Leeds Transport Strategy has been supported and guided by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the new Leeds transport advisory panel. The panel is chaired by Director of Strategy for Transport for the North Nigel Foster, and includes leading transport experts and senior figures from transport bodies and organisations, along with representatives from the worlds of business, education, planning, accessibility, equalities and campaign groups.

It also forms part of the wider regional strategic economic plan which aims to deliver up to 35,000 new jobs and an additional £3.7billion of economic output by 2036.

The proposals and strategy released tomorrow will be considered by senior councillors at next week’s executive board meeting at Civic Hall on Wednesday 14 December and if approved will then go to the Department of Transport for its consideration.

Sounds like the council are hoping to get these projects started quickly and get the stations open before 2020.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Thorpe Park.... How is that going to fit in on the very busy transpennine route i wonder?

 

[bradders1983]

Thorpe Park.... How is that going to fit in on the very busy transpennine route i wonder?

Only served by the stoppers with stops cut at Cross Gates/the Garforths in order to make time for a stop? Dunno.

You could say the same about the White Rose stop too, no matter which of the two lines they place it on (more likely going to be the Huddersfield line) something will have to give.

And how will people get the mile between the Airport Parkway station and the Airport? Will it be a bus that will be cancelled at the first available opportunity, like what happened at EMA?

 

[Grumpy]

A couple of years ago the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Atkins published a report on proposed new stations. A lot of work had gone into this and whilst much of the methodology could be argued with, there was a clear consistency in prioritising which possible sites were likely to be successful and business cases progressed.

White Rose Centre and Cookridge (I am guessing this is where the proposed airport Park and Ride will be) were both rejected as being too difficult/costly/disruptive.

Now they miraculously appear top of the list.

 

[johntea]

Everyone always goes on about how great White Rose would be, but with all the bl%$^y shopping areas in Leeds itself these days I struggle to see the point to be quite honest

The airport idea also seems good on paper, but good luck getting your suitcases on a Northern Rail service between Leeds and Harrogate at peak times!

 

[HowardGWR]

Thorpe Park.... How is that going to fit in on the very busy transpennine route i wonder?

Loops?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Everyone always goes on about how great White Rose would be, but with all the bl%$^y shopping areas in Leeds itself these days I struggle to see the point to be quite honest

The airport idea also seems good on paper, but good luck getting your suitcases on a Northern Rail service between Leeds and Harrogate at peak times!

Indeed, the White Rose Centre has been overtaken by the development of Leeds city centre as a major shopping destination. If it didn't already exist there's no way it would get built today. And that's before you look at how awkward a station between Morley and Cottingley would be from an operational point of view. We're already removing the local stoppers to make way for more sardine-can TPE services, so are Hull/Dewsbury/Batley passengers going to be delayed and crushed further so that WYITA can tick a few boxes?

If a White Rose station was on the Doncaster line, it'd be easier from an operations point of view, but you'd need to build a very long covered raised walkway (much like that at Meadowhall Interchange) to encourage people to use it. Besides, it would end up being used as a parkway for the city centre more than for visits to the WRC.

 

[DarloRich]

has anyone thought of a tram system for Leeds?

 

[Saint66]

has anyone thought of a tram system for Leeds?

It's only been debated and discussed for the past few years... Council have very much backed away from that idea!

 

[DarloRich]

It's only been debated and discussed for the past few years... Council have very much backed away from that idea!

The most recent suggestion was knocked back a few months ago.

 

[theblackwatch]

has anyone thought of a tram system for Leeds?

Yes, it was first talked about in the late 1980s/early 1990s, but has got absolutely nowhere apart from a load of dawdling and studies - at one point I think it was decided trolleybuses would be a better idea. Perhaps discussion about all that would be better on the What does Leeds need in addition to buses? thread.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

has anyone thought of a tram system for Leeds?

It's only been debated and discussed for the past few years... Council have very much backed away from that idea!

A modern light rail system would be far more useful than trying to squeeze extra stations onto services which are already bursting at the seams. Leeds though doesn't have the plethora of suburban branches/secondary routes to convert as did Manchester, nor did it have the same level of 1950s road schemes as Sheffield which provided space for segregated alignments.

If developed sensibly, a tram network would be transformative- but that would be expensive. A segregated alignment to the rail-starved north east of the city would require a lot of demolition, as would longer-distance routes to places like Morley or Dewsbury (tram-train wouldn't work there due to the frequency of TPE services).

 

[notlob.divad]

I don't know a great deal about the transport network around Leeds, but from what I can see on google maps:

the new station at Apperley bridge is 10-15 minutes by road away from Leeds Bradford Airport. Alternatively Horsforth is about 9 minutes away. Given the closest place to the airport (between Cookridge and Bramhope) is in a tunnel, and has limited access to decent roads for an onwards shuttle bus, I fail to see how the situation could be improved by a new stop, and would have thought developing either Horsforth or Apperley bridge into an Airport parkway station with a dedicated shuttle bus would be a better solution.

 

[syorksdeano]

How many times have people heard about a train station at the airport? Everytime it is mentioned it always gets rejected for one reason or another

Sent from my SM-T555 using Tapatalk

 

[matacaster]

The proposed airport station is to be welcomed as the current transport arrangements, particularly road and public transport are truly laughable. However, as usual, the best solution is missed. This would involve a new line from guiesely on ilkley line to somewhere near horsforth station, mainly in tunnel, with a station under the airport terminal. There would be a semi circular bradford to Leeds service + a Leeds to ilkley is horsforth and airport + a bradford to York via airport.
Of course this will not happen as its not in LSE.

 

[noddingdonkey]

You can bet that if the airport does get a station the service won't run at sensible times to fit the early morning check ins or post midnight arrivals that are not uncommon in this age of low cost airlines

 

[lejog]

A couple of years ago the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Atkins published a report on proposed new stations. A lot of work had gone into this and whilst much of the methodology could be argued with, there was a clear consistency in prioritising which possible sites were likely to be successful and business cases progressed.

White Rose Centre and Cookridge (I am guessing this is where the proposed airport Park and Ride will be) were both rejected as being too difficult/costly/disruptive.

Now they miraculously appear top of the list.

If you read the article, the answers there, there's a large budget to be spent by 2021!

Unfortunately with the state of Network Rail activities post-Hendy there must be doubts whether any of these projects will actually take place. The WYCA have already decided to divert a budget for Calder Valley upgrades to Elland station because:

The amount of uncertainty related to what the rail industry is going to deliver in the coming years infrastructure-wise poses a significant risk to the deliverability of any WY+TF funded rail track/infrastructure schemes.

WYCA minutes extract.

Presumably why the article doesn't mention Elland.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

If you read the article, the answers there, there's a large budget to be spent by 2021!

Unfortunately with the state of Network Rail activities post-Hendy there must be doubts whether any of these projects will actually take place. The WYCA have already decided to divert a budget for Calder Valley upgrades to Elland station because:



WYCA minutes extract.

Presumably why the article doesn't mention Elland.

Funny that consideration has been given to the reality of the current aims of the railway with regard to Elland, but these factors have apparently been ignored in regard to White Rose and Thorpe Park stations. If joined-up thinking is possible there, why not elsewhere?

 

[bradders1983]

You can bet that if the airport does get a station the service won't run at sensible times to fit the early morning check ins or post midnight arrivals that are not uncommon in this age of low cost airlines

Of course it wont. Manchester Airport is station is equally as useless for those type of departures/arrivals unless you are lucky enough to live near the one line that has the 24 hour service running.

 

[CompactDstrxion]

I would rather ditch the White Rose/Thorpe Park stations and spend the money on a better solution for the airport, not some silly Parkway station.

 

[urbophile]

has anyone thought of a tram system for Leeds?

There was a wonderful one until the 1950s! King Car put paid to that one.

 

[superkev]

Difficult to see how you can spend £270 million on just 6 platforms but I suppose there's feasibility studies etc to pay for. Prob take years.
As for how to do proper transport in a similar sized city look up Stuttgart on you tube. No messing about on the surface - straight under the centre.
K

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Indeed, the White Rose Centre has been overtaken by the development of Leeds city centre as a major shopping destination. If it didn't already exist there's no way it would get built today and that's before you look at how awkward a station between Morley and Cottingley would be from an operational point of view. We're already removing the local stoppers to make way for more sardine-can TPE services, so are Hull/Dewsbury/Batley passengers going to be delayed and crushed further so that WYITA can tick a few boxes?

If a station was ever be built at White Rose, it should be built on the Doncaster route I can't see how a station between Cottingley and Morley would work despite it being nearer to girlies paradise.

 

[Spod]

I believe Thorpe Park was proposed as a four platform station, with loops extending towards Cross Gates and Garforth where the alignment is pretty wide. Thorpe Park will have a few thousand homes built, in addition to the existing catchment, and a retail park with cinema. The loops should help alleviate the impact of an extra station, and may help with freight paths, though I hold hope that we may see four tracking east from Leeds to the M1, possibly with the fast lines joining the HS2 link to the ECML.
White Rose has less scope for loops, but if parking is free it will help keep the White Rose Centre popular for those that park there for the last leg to Leeds, or who want easy access to out of town shopping.
The airport parkway sounds like acknowledgement that there's no chance of a heavy rail link to the airport so this is the best we'll get for now, and will still be useful as a parkway even if the proper link eventually happens.
I'll be interested in what everyone else thinks of these proposals!

 

[thejuggler]

I don't know a great deal about the transport network around Leeds, but from what I can see on google maps:

the new station at Apperley bridge is 10-15 minutes by road away from Leeds Bradford Airport. Alternatively Horsforth is about 9 minutes away. Given the closest place to the airport (between Cookridge and Bramhope) is in a tunnel, and has limited access to decent roads for an onwards shuttle bus, I fail to see how the situation could be improved by a new stop, and would have thought developing either Horsforth or Apperley bridge into an Airport parkway station with a dedicated shuttle bus would be a better solution.

Bang on the head of the nail. The 'airport parkway' is a red herring as there are other stations very close which could easily have an airport shuttle, but never have.

It will actually be a north Leeds commuter park and ride facility, which is desperately needed as Horsforth and Guiseley stations have woeful parking facilities.

To say it is for the airport just gets another tick in the SWOT analysis to justify the location and spend on the large swathes of tarmac which will need to be laid across greenbelt to link the new station with the airport.

 

[TUC]

The proposed airport station is to be welcomed as the current transport arrangements, particularly road and public transport are truly laughable.

In what way are they laughable? The bus service between Leeds and the airport is every 20 minutes, half hourly in the evenings. http://www.wymetro.com/site/handlers/buses/timetables/pdf.ashx?route=757&code=

If you mean that the bus service also operates as a local service for intermediate stops and so takes too long, I agree with you. However that could easily be fixed by an express bus service, without the need for expensive rail infrastructure.

 

[HowardGWR]

In what way are they laughable? The bus service between Leeds and the airport is every 20 minutes, half hourly in the evenings. http://www.wymetro.com/site/handlers/buses/timetables/pdf.ashx?route=757&code=

If you mean that the bus service also operates as a local service for intermediate stops and so takes too long, I agree with you. However that could easily be fixed by an express bus service, without the need for expensive rail infrastructure.

Agreed. The bus to Lulsgate Airport, similarly on a hill, remote from Bristol, has an excellent coach service from the centre through Temple Meads, every 10 mins all day, and all night at lower frequency.

I am surprised Leeds doesn't think more imaginatively.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

In what way are they laughable? The bus service between Leeds and the airport is every 20 minutes, half hourly in the evenings. http://www.wymetro.com/site/handlers/buses/timetables/pdf.ashx?route=757&code=

If you mean that the bus service also operates as a local service for intermediate stops and so takes too long, I agree with you. However that could easily be fixed by an express bus service, without the need for expensive rail infrastructure.

The absence of a dedicated airport shuttle bus does suggest a lack of demand for such a service... which then raises the question of whether an airport parkway station is needed. Much like East Midlands and many other regional airports, a large proportion of LBA's business is holidays and package tours- often families who are more likely to make their own arrangements for getting to the airport.

 

[glbotu]

So, looking at these proposals,

Leeds-Bradford Parkway on the Harrogate line. Unless they build a Big station, which can take a new service, which runs from Leeds-Bradford Parkway to Leeds, then I can't see how the stoppers are going to handle an extra stop. It's busy at quiet times.

White Rose actually has lots of space next to it to build the station on loops. It could be used as a place for the TPE to overtake the stopper.

Thorpe Park, depends on if it's a Thorpe-Park parkway (gets in the way of everything), or a dedicated line (which could work, with some 4 tracking between Cross Gates and Saxton Gardens.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

So, looking at these proposals,
...
White Rose actually has lots of space next to it to build the station on loops. It could be used as a place for the TPE to overtake the stopper.

The stopper is being withdrawn. Local calls will be made by TPE semi-fasts (which may well still be overtaken). Westbound services have ample opportunity to overtake at Mirfield but Eastbound only has the short loop at Dewsbury at present, which is only used for overtaking at times of disruption. If loops were to be provided at a new WRC station it could cope with only having a loop on the Down but ideally would be longer than just the platform length to minimise delays to stopping services. Proximity to Morley and Cottingley would still be an issue though. Ideally Leeds would have a tram system serving Morley town centre which would allow the inconveniently placed Morley Low station to close. With all the recent house building at Cottingley, that station probably has more potential for growth than Morley.