Leeds City Stations Futuristic Look

[Bayum]

Leeds is to get a new "futuristic entrance" linking granary wharfe with the city station.

Currently there is no access for passengers from the Holbeck side of the station, with many having to use the gloomy arches underneath to gain access.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Futuristic-new-look-for-Leeds.5554514.jp

 

[j0hn0]

but have you seen that the "entrance" is positioned over the river in a bit that no-one can really see, quite a way from the road and paths

the cynic in me says that the only land they could afford to buy was over the river and that they'll still have to walk down the gloomy bits between the tower blocks anyway

what with this and the new trolley buses, Leeds is really hitting the big time

 

[Oswyntail]

Perhaps it's not an entrance but an exit, rather like the waste chutes from castles - unsuspecting commuters and clubbers leave the platform and fall through the trapdoor into the river.

 

[krus_aragon]

Perhaps it's not an entrance but an exit, rather like the waste chutes from castles - unsuspecting commuters and clubbers leave the platform and fall through the trapdoor into the river.

With a sign above declaring "To the egress"?

 

[j0hn0]

:d

 

[asylumxl]

That's repulsive. Why waste money?

 

[Bayum]

It might not even be happening anymore!!

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Fears-over-15m-new-Leeds.5557772.jp

 

[j0hn0]

Someone had to. What amazes me is that no-one at any time, before it was presented and released to the media, took a step back and said " 'ang on a minute luv"

The way they try to explain it is stupid, "its to maintain the flow of people over the pedestrian bridge" Ok fine, but why do you need to do that? People have to walk from the main concourse and up an escalator to get across the bridge anyway, why cannot this happen from the other side?

Like I said, they can't afford the land and sometimes I just wish they would say it instead of coming up with some bu11 excuse.

As was suggested in the article, the best place was on swinegate on derelict land.

 

[DBE]

What about ticket gates at certain locations (eg. the end of platform 1, platform 7 etc.) to aid the travel of season ticket holders, or commuters with a pre-purchased ticket?

 

[GNERman]

there's no point, it's not far from either entrance...

 

[DBE]

Perhaps a more radical solution would be to open up the station entirely, and get rid of the tunnel that used to house the ticket booths. The station would feel much more open, and it would also ease congestion. The displaced shops and offices could be moved either onto the platform side, or built in somewhere on the northern concourse.

 

[yorksrob]

If they did site the new entrance further East, it could feed into the footbridge at the East end of the station, which in turn would reduce congestion on the platform stairs and escallators to the main footbridge. Personally I think they should do something about Wakefield Kirkgate first.

 

[DBE]

There is a modernisation program for Kirkgate, with more info here:
http://www.wymetro.com/news/releases/WakefieldKirkgateCarParkrefurbishment.htm

 

[yorksrob]

Looks nice, particularly if they introduce staffing. It's one thing to do up a station, another to keep it that way.

 

[DBE]

Funding is difficult to secure and keep in this 'difficult economic environment'

I think its a step in the right direction, and like you say, if it's managed properly then it should stay a good station in the years to come (if the scheme runs).

 

[j0hn0]

haha, Leeds, managed properly, have you ever tried a journey across the city?

 

[DBE]

haha, Leeds, managed properly, have you ever tried a journey across the city?

Yes, I live there so I do it on a regular basis. Trains are normally okay, its the buses on New Bond Street that cause the problems!

And my previous post was about Wakefield getting proper managing, but I don't know how good the council is.

 

[j0hn0]

Yes, I live there so I do it on a regular basis. Trains are normally okay, its the buses on New Bond Street that cause the problems!

And my previous post was about Wakefield getting proper managing, but I don't know how good the council is.

all transport in Leeds is terrible, try going from Kirkstall to East Street every day as I did, or even Morley to Armley. Leeds station is great for connections to places that aren't in Leeds, except the airport of course :roll:

 

[yorksrob]

all transport in Leeds is terrible, try going from Kirkstall to East Street every day as I did, or even Morley to Armley. Leeds station is great for connections to places that aren't in Leeds, except the airport of course :roll:

I think the Victorians are to blame. For some reason they left a huge wedge of Leeds without any sort of rail access at all.

 

[j0hn0]

I think the Victorians are to blame. For some reason they left a huge wedge of Leeds without any sort of rail access at all.

absolutely, from Headingley all the way across to cross gates, there is no railway and never was. Really bizarre, but not too unindicative

In Kirklees, the Dewsbury line was becoming too congested back in the day and so they built a new line to bypass it, but instead built a line line like the Great Way Round and ended up going further, not being any quicker and being restricted to certain trains because of the gradients.

Just look at the pictures I added, we hark on back to the 'golden age' but really, the amount of route options, changes and termini to deal with, its amazing anyone got anywhere. I'm not surprised beeching closed most of it because none of it actually linked in with each other and the car seemed a much better option

 

[yorksrob]

absolutely, from Headingley all the way across to cross gates, there is no railway and never was. Really bizarre, but not too unindicative

In Kirklees, the Dewsbury line was becoming too congested back in the day and so they built a new line to bypass it, but instead built a line line like the Great Way Round and ended up going further, not being any quicker and being restricted to certain trains because of the gradients.

Just look at the pictures I added, we hark on back to the 'golden age' but really, the amount of route options, changes and termini to deal with, its amazing anyone got anywhere. I'm not surprised beeching closed most of it because none of it actually linked in with each other and the car seemed a much better option

Cheers for posting the maps A lot of the lines built around the industrial cities look a bit of a jumble, particularly compared to a pre Beeching map of sussex or hampshire which would show a reasonably planned route network, although they also got axed!

 

[Spartacus]

To be fair to the LNWR they wanted to quadruple the line through Dewsbury but with two railways already running down the fairly narrow valley between Batley and Dewsbury, and serious concerns about mine and quarry workings around Morley tunnel, their only other choice would have been right over the L&Y via Kirkgate which was always unlikely at best.

 

[tbtc]

Talking of Leeds - is that disused viaduct by Whitehall Junction potentially linkable to the Huddersfield line at the other end?

 

[Waverley125]

do you mean the viaduct that flys over the pontefract line, or the old viaduct into Central station? The former heads in the wrong direction, and the alignment has been built on further down.

The latter would be pointless as Central station has been demolished.

 

[philjo]

I think the Victorians are to blame. For some reason they left a huge wedge of Leeds without any sort of rail access at all.

I thought there was a comprehensive tram network in Leeds (until they decided to replace it with buses)?
I know my grandmother always used the trams to get round Leeds when she was young.

I agree that some cross-city journeys can be slow.

I sometimes need to travel from the Kirkstall area to Burley in wharfefedale or Ilkley (not exactly cross-city as both are on the same side of Leeds...) - it is necessary at present to travel into the centre of Leeds by bus (or train from headingley) & get the train back out - on the train you pass the area you started from about 50 minutes later!
I hope that the proposed Kirkstall Station isn't too long away from being built.

 

[j0hn0]

do you mean the viaduct that flys over the pontefract line, or the old viaduct into Central station? The former heads in the wrong direction, and the alignment has been built on further down.

The latter would be pointless as Central station has been demolished.

they could use that to run tram-trains off the harrogate line into the city centre, woah, sorry, forgot it was Leeds. No lets dig up the whole Otley road because headingley needs more public transport services :roll:

wonder why supertram was rejected
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

To be fair to the LNWR they wanted to quadruple the line through Dewsbury but with two railways already running down the fairly narrow valley between Batley and Dewsbury, and serious concerns about mine and quarry workings around Morley tunnel, their only other choice would have been right over the L&Y via Kirkgate which was always unlikely at best.

Or, taking it off through the earlsheaton tunnel through Gusset, sorry Osset. or was that the route you were talking about?

Would've been a much more sensible option, like Cleckheaton needed 2 stations

 

[philjo]

Thinking about it, the railways were probably following the Aire valley to get out of Leeds as it would be the easiest route - it starts getting more hilly to the north of the city (Adel & Cookridge etc are quite high up) which probably would have needed some extensive tunnels/viaducts to be built, & the gradients may have been a factor. The existing line through Headingley climbs up a bit to get to Headingley & Horsforth from the city centre.
Also, I assume that the historical heavy industry which would have required rail access was close to the Aire - the northern area of the city is generally residential (so trams would suffice here), whereas the east/south areas had the industry requiring freight access.

 

[j0hn0]

yep, trams were everywhere in this country until we realised we preferred the car. What amazes me is the trams ran to Morley, up the massive hill.

But also, by definition, every area which isn't industrial or retail or countryside, is residential no?

 

[Spartacus]

Although the viaduct over Holbeck couldn't be used for trains to and from Morley it could be used for trains to and from Wakefield Westgate. I think it'd be useful simply as a route for services to and from the Sheffield direction, so no electrification needed. All locals and expresses to Sheffield from platforms 15-17?

I don't think Ossett would have been used as a route to Leeds since it's have still needed to use other company's lines and either new track or a reversal or two. A better route might have been via Tingley and Woodkirk, although again it's still have used GNR lines, and not have avoided the bottleneck between Ravensthorpe and Batley.

As for the Supertram, Alistair Darling cancelled every tram scheme except one when he was Transport Secretary, except one. Edinburgh. Remind me, where is he the MP for????

Funnily the end of the era of trams started with the Central Electricity Board. Previously local electricity boards had provided trams with electricity more or less at cost as during the day they were one of the few large scale users, and it was cheaper than shutting down the boilers. The CEB abolished this practice and at normal electricity rates most tram networks couldn't make a profit.

 

[tbtc]

do you mean the viaduct that flys over the pontefract line, or the old viaduct into Central station? The former heads in the wrong direction, and the alignment has been built on further down

The former. Couldn't remember what was at the "far" end of it