The government confirmed a further £200 million for Leeds station at the budget on Wednesday, taking total investment in the station to more than £300 million.
The Department for Transport said the works are due to be delivered by 2030. They include a new central overbridge, three new entrances, more space on the concourses and a longer platform 14.
Passengers are promised more direct routes through the station and less crowding, with nearly 40 per cent more ticket barriers and greater lift capacity.
The department puts the overall upgrade at £303 million. Of that, £200 million is the new money confirmed at the budget, added to earlier investment in the station.
The three new entrances are meant to strengthen links between the station and the city centre, improving access to the South Bank, the Dark Arches and Princes Square.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the extra investment would turn Leeds into “a station this city can be proud of”. She described the station as the gateway to West Yorkshire and said the government was backing infrastructure that creates jobs and builds homes as it works to set up Great British Railways.
Leeds station currently handles more than 27 million passengers a year, and eight in 10 services in West Yorkshire start or end there. The department describes it as the third busiest station outside London.
Annual passenger numbers are forecast to grow by almost 12 million by 2043, on top of the current figure of more than 27 million.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, called Leeds station “the beating heart of our region’s transport network” and said it was only going to get busier.
She said the investment would benefit passengers and businesses and help unlock the capacity needed for future growth. She added that it sat alongside wider plans for West Yorkshire’s Weaver Network.
The department said the Leeds works pave the way for the Transpennine Route Upgrade, an £11 billion investment that will raise passenger capacity by 30 per cent and electrify key routes across the North.
It also tied the work to Northern Powerhouse Rail, which it said would deliver a turn-up-and-go railway. Under that model, multiple trains an hour would run between major northern cities, so passengers would not need to check a timetable before travelling.
The announcement came one week after the Transport Secretary confirmed a new station at Bradford Interchange. The department said that station, together with the proposed West Yorkshire Mass Transit, would support thousands of new homes and jobs and up to £1 billion in economic benefits.
The Leeds works are scheduled for completion by 2030.