Leeds station improvement updates

[johntea]

The kitchens in the Weatherspoons at Leeds station certainly need including in the refurbishment. Every Friday they seem to fail. I wouldn't mind but they're the only place you can get a fry-up before 8.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Oct 2025 ==

And another thing (slightly more rail related).

The main up escalator from the concourse to the footbridge is out of action for several weeks. Surely they ought to reverse the other escalator during this time, as its easier to descend stairs than ascend them.

The Northern app states

“A major overhaul of the “up” escalator on platform 8 is taking place at Leeds, this means it will be out of service from the 6 October until 20 November. A lift is available on Platform 8.”

 

[yorksrob]

The Northern app states

“A major overhaul of the “up” escalator on platform 8 is taking place at Leeds, this means it will be out of service from the 6 October until 20 November. A lift is available on Platform 8.”

Yes, surely the slowest lifts in Christendom.

 

[Halifaxlad]

Wouldn't it be easier just to replace it with a brand new one ?

 

[Islandexpress]

The kitchens in the Weatherspoons at Leeds station certainly need including in the refurbishment. Every Friday they seem to fail. I wouldn't mind but they're the only place you can get a fry-up before 8.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Oct 2025 ==

And another thing (slightly more rail related).

The main up escalator from the concourse to the footbridge is out of action for several weeks. Surely they ought to reverse the other escalator during this time, as its easier to descend stairs than ascend them.

Laynes on New Station St does a lovely breakfast. Different clientele though to Wetherspoons!

 

[yorksrob]

Laynes on New Station St does a lovely breakfast. Different clientele though to Wetherspoons!

It's a shame the David Street cafe closed. They used to do tinned tomatoes !

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2025 ==

Walking through yesterday, it looks as though they're doing something with the retail unit on the North concourse, previously used by Subway.

 

[class 9]

It's going to be a Greggs.

 

[yorksrob]

It'll be popular I'm sure.

 

[YorksLad12]

It's going to be a Greggs.

It'll be popular I'm sure.

Taken an age to get planning permission through. It'll be popular (though I still miss Burger King). Wonder if it will have opening hours similar to Leon, or to McDonalds...?

 

[skyhigh]

It'll be popular I'm sure.

Maybe - I suspect they will charge station prices, so those with a choice will use the existing branches a short walk away.

 

[class 9]

Maybe - I suspect they will charge station prices, so those with a choice will use the existing branches a short walk away.

It'll probably be like the one at Derby, a franchise run by SSP.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2025 ==

Taken an age to get planning permission through. It'll be popular (though I still miss Burger King). Wonder if it will have opening hours similar to Leon, or to McDonalds...?

Probably because the North Concourse is a listed building.

 

[YorksLad12]

Observations on a car park: various people (three today) dressed in the full Guantanamo orange, inspecting the closed surface car park in a manner that suggests one of them lost a farthing there once. Any suggestions on what might be occurring? Bringing it back into use, perhaps?

Also, had lunch with a couple of friends today, and one of them picked a fine under the new parking regime. She'd parked in the multi-storey, had to get out of the car to pick up her ticket but hadn't put her seat belt back on. So she stopped, did it up and... ping. That's about five seconds. The website wouldn't let her pay the £60 fine so she got a £100 fine instead (subject for a different thread). In the past four months there must have been hundreds of similar fines, but you'd be hard pressed to say it was making a difference, looking at the access road.

Edit to partly answer my own question: four trucks with portable cabins (but just the one crane to lift them off) have arrived this early eveningtide. So probably not being brought back into use.

 

[YorksLad12]

I haven't had a chance to check it out myself, but there's a video on Facebook showing that you can once again walk out of the station and turn left towards City Square.

 

[mm333]

I haven't had a chance to check it out myself, but there's a video on Facebook showing that you can once again walk out of the station and turn left towards City Square.

You can. I used it on the 10 November when doing a reccie in how to get to my new job.

 

[_toommm_]

I haven't had a chance to check it out myself, but there's a video on Facebook showing that you can once again walk out of the station and turn left towards City Square.

And they've switched sides for the right-hand turn out the main entrance, so you're now walking along what was the road.

I'll try to remember to take some photos later, but it's progressing pretty well and a lot of the paving is done on what was formerly the road outside the station entrance. The lift still isn't fully built though.

 

[YorksLad12]

And they've switched sides for the right-hand turn out the main entrance, so you're now walking along what was the road.

I'll try to remember to take some photos later, but it's progressing pretty well and a lot of the paving is done on what was formerly the road outside the station entrance. The lift still isn't fully built though.

Yes - they've set up a maze so that they can keep the route open while they do other bits. As with many things in Leeds, "it'll be nice when it's finished".

 

[Iskra]

Yes - they've set up a maze so that they can keep the route open while they do other bits. As with many things in Leeds, "it'll be nice when it's finished".

Leeds station will never be finished, it feels like construction is the only constant!

 

[thejuggler]

Observations on a car park: various people (three today) dressed in the full Guantanamo orange, inspecting the closed surface car park in a manner that suggests one of them lost a farthing there once. Any suggestions on what might be occurring? Bringing it back into use, perhaps?

Also, had lunch with a couple of friends today, and one of them picked a fine under the new parking regime. She'd parked in the multi-storey, had to get out of the car to pick up her ticket but hadn't put her seat belt back on. So she stopped, did it up and... ping. That's about five seconds. The website wouldn't let her pay the £60 fine so she got a £100 fine instead (subject for a different thread). In the past four months there must have been hundreds of similar fines, but you'd be hard pressed to say it was making a difference, looking at the access road.

Edit to partly answer my own question: four trucks with portable cabins (but just the one crane to lift them off) have arrived this early eveningtide. So probably not being brought back into use.

She received an invoice, not a fine. An hour or so online researching the validity of such an invoice and she would have realised she didn't have to pay anything.

I ended up in east Leeds yesterday after exiting the M1 to the A63 to head towards north Leeds. I then unexpectedly had to get to the station to pick someone up.

Despite having lived in Leeds for decades I have never managed to get the geography of south and east of the city centre in my head and all the recent changes show Leeds Council really don't want any cars in that area.

At one point I was at the Scarbrough Taps, next to the station, there was a temporary sign saying 'station' which was pointing the wrong way down a one way street! Getting to the other side of the station to pick someone up took 25 minutes.

 

[GoneSouth]

Where are RRBs going to stop when they’ve pedestrianised everything within a Km of Leeds station

 

[1D53]

Greggs opens 27th December. Late Christmas present for many traincrew!

 

[Cach17]

Greggs opens 27th December. Late Christmas present for many traincrew!

Damn, gonna miss it by ten days when I go up!

 

[_toommm_]

I'll try to remember to take some photos later, but it's progressing pretty well and a lot of the paving is done on what was formerly the road outside the station entrance. The lift still isn't fully built though.

Maybe not, train was cancelled as per.

 

[xotGD]

Damn, gonna miss it by ten days when I go up!

There are two other branches of Greggs within 5 mins walking distance of the station.

Back on the station, I noticed that a second food stall has reappeared on the concourse.

 

[1D53]

The second stall is a temporary one selling olives, turkish delight etc - its temporary and appears a couple of times a year at Leeds and various other stations (I've seen it at Man Vic before).

 

[YorksLad12]

Where are RRBs going to stop when they’ve pedestrianised everything within a Km of Leeds station

Where they stop now; on Wellington Street, near the North Concourse exit. I don’t know how it’s signposted inside the station, but the stop itself has a plate.

 

[speedy1]

Regarding the escalator, at a certain point, you have to wonder if there is a secret plot to increase the exercise of the railway users.

I can certainly imagine that if the LNER services departed from platforms that required using the bridge that it would have been permanently fixed many many months ago

 

[1D53]

Regarding the escalator, at a certain point, you have to wonder if there is a secret plot to increase the exercise of the railway users.

I can certainly imagine that if the LNER services departed from platforms that required using the bridge that it would have been permanently fixed many many months ago

It's being refurbished now because that's exactly what is happening come the timetable change...

 

[speedy1]

It's being refurbished now because that's exactly what is happening come the timetable change...

Why am I not surprised!!

What more-important service is getting to use the "premier" platforms??

 

[1D53]

Just LNER again. They've got turnarounds of nearly 90 minutes at Leeds now which means they can't just stick in 6 & 8.

 

[Ballyheigue]

The Northern app states

“A major overhaul of the “up” escalator on platform 8 is taking place at Leeds, this means it will be out of service from the 6 October until 20 November. A lift is available on Platform 8.”

It's most likely not possible to reverse the direction of older escalators, I think they were put in around the late 90s. I tried to reverse the flow of an old type escalator when working for M&S White Rose with dangerous consequences, I got shown how to do it by an engineer but he failed to say you can only do it for 1 cycle to get people off if needed, I got people well and truly off after one cycle, they were thrown off lol.

 

[Llandudno]

There are two other branches of Greggs within 5 mins walking distance of the station.

Back on the station, I noticed that a second food stall has reappeared on the concourse.

Presumably the new Greggs inside the station will be charging circa 50p extra per item more than the two existing outlets just outside the station …?