Leeds has one train station at its centre; the busiest train station outside central London. Over 900 trains and 90,000 passengers pass throughout the station every day, 15,000 during the morning peak alone. As you would expect in a major national, as well as regional, transport hub, Leeds Train Station is modern and efficient.

Leeds City Train Station is located by City Square in the centre of Leeds. It is the heart of the West Yorkshire rail network, which contains 67 local train stations (14 in the Leeds district), operated by Metro, the co-ordinating body for public transport in West Yorkshire.

The £245m modernisation, completed in 2002, allows more trains to travel through the station and caters for faster trains. Key improvements include a new roof, three customer information points, a passenger footbridge, escalators to all platforms and lifts. A new taxi rank and bus interchange have been built, located on New Station Street, providing a fully integrated transport service.

Leeds City station is a historical combination of the former Leeds New Station and Leeds Wellington Station. The former was jointly owned by North East Railway and the London North West Railway and opened in 1869. The latter was a Leeds and Bradford Railway station and opened in 1846. The Queen's Hotel was opened by the Midland Railway in 1863 and extended twice, in 1867 and 1898. It was rebuilt by the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1937. The two were combined on May 2 1938 by the then owners, the London North East Railway and the London Midland and Scottish Railway. The station was completely rebuilt in 1967.

The 67 Metro Train stations in West Yorkshire are served by a mix of long distance and local services. Arriva run the local train services in West Yorkshire on behalf of Metro. Nearly 20 million passenger journeys are made on the county's rail network each year. Stations within the city of Leeds are:

Bramley
Burley Park
Cottingly
Cross Gates
East Garforth
Garforth
Guiseley - close to Leeds Bradford International Airport
Headingly
Horsforth - close to Leeds Bradford International Airport
Micklefield
Morley
New Pudsey
Woodlesford

Towns served in the West Yorkshire conurbation, and their local rail network journey times from Leeds Station are:

Burley Park - 5 minutes
Headingley - 10 minutes
Hornbeam Park - 30 minutes
Bradford - 20 minutes
Wakefield - 15 minutes
Ilkley - 30 minutes
Skipton - 40 minutes
Huddersfield - 20 minutes
Barnsley - 45 minutes
Castleford - 20 minutes
Halifax - 35 minutes

The main railways serving Leeds and West Yorkshire are:

Airedale Line
Airedale Line services are mainly operated by modern Class 333 electric trains. Beyond Skipton (in North Yorkshire), some diesel services extend to Lancaster and Morecambe, or to Carlisle via Settle. Leeds - Settle - Carlisle is a particularly scenic line, with great views through the spectacular Yorkshire Dales.

Caldervale Line
The Caldervale Line route is served by a number of different services. As well as the longer distance services to Blackpool North and Manchester Victoria, local trains run to Halifax and on to Huddersfield via Brighouse.

Hallam Line
The Hallam Line connects Leeds, Castleford and Wakefield to Barnsley and Sheffield. All trains also stop at Meadowhall.

Harrogate Line
The Harrogate Line runs close to Headingley Cricket and Rugby grounds and through Bramhope Tunnel before reaching Harrogate, with trains extending half-hourly to Knaresborough and hourly to York.

Huddersfield Line
The Huddersfield Line is one of the busiest on the network. As well as local trains from Leeds, Wakefield Westgate and Manchester Victoria to Huddersfield, the line forms part of the TransPennine Express network.

Leeds - Bradford Line
Not strictly a 'line', but a composite timetable of all the services than run between Leeds, Bradford and Shipley, plus those on the Caldervale Line between Leeds and Bradford.

Penistone Line
Single-track for much of the route, the Penistone Line provides a vital link to rural communities in south Kirklees. The Penistone Line Partnership is a long-time supporter of services on the route.

Pontefract Line
The routes through the former mining areas to the east of Wakefield and Castleford have the greatest concentration of Metro opened stations. A limited service operates beyond Knottingley to and from Goole.

Wakefield Line
Part of the Wakefield Line forms the East Coast Main Line route to London, which means electric trains run on services between Leeds and Doncaster. This also means that the local stopping service is supplemented by frequent InterCity services between Leeds, Wakefield and either Doncaster or Sheffield.

Wharfedale Line
This line runs from Leeds and Bradford to Ilkley, at the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. The line was electrified in 1995 and is now served by a fleet of modern Class 333 trains.

York and Selby Lines
As well as local services, TransPennine Express services operate along this route, as do Virgin CrossCountry services to York, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

National rail network journey times from Leeds Station are:

Bradford - 20 minutes
Manchester - 1 hour
Sheffield - 45 minutes - 1 hour 20 minutes
London - 2 hours - 2 hours 30 minutes
Newcastle - 1 hour 30 minutes - 2 hours 30 minutes
Birmingham - 2 hours
Edinburgh - 3 hours
Doncaster - 30 minutes - 1 hour
Liverpool - 2 hours

GNER provide rail links to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Peterborough, Wakefield, Doncaster and London. Leeds - London is the biggest long distance rail market in the UK. GNER, running along the East coast, offers a service that can get you to London Kings Cross in less than two hours, and provide 26 Leeds - London journeys a day. Connections are made at York for journeys to and from Newcastle and Scotland.

Virgin Cross Country trains run between Newcastle and Bristol Temple Meads via Birmingham New Street. Some trains extend beyond Bristol Temple Meads to Plymouth and/or Penzance. Others run to and from Edinburgh. Virgin's Cross Country service provides direct access to Edinburgh, Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, York, Wakefield, Sheffield, Derby, Tamworth, Birmingham, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucester, Bristol, Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth, Oxford, Reading, Southampton and Bournmeouth.

Transpennine services run between Leeds Dewsbury and Huddersfield, and also serve Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, York, Necastle, Middlesborough, Scarborough, Hull, Huddersfield, Warrington and Liverpool.

Midland Mainline operate from Yorkshire via the East Midlands to London St Pancras. Some trains operated by Midland Mainline start from and terminate at Leeds. These trains run via Sheffield and Leicester to London St Pancras.

Northern Rail offers links Leeds with Doncaster, Sheffield, York, Harrogate, Pontefract, Carlisle, Morecambe and Manchester Victoria.

You are entitled to a Young Persons Railcard if you are between 16 and 25 years of age, or over 26 and in full-time education. If you are over 60, a Senior Railcard is available, and if you have a disability, you may qualify for a Disabled Person's Railcard. A Family Railcard can be used by up to four adults and four children - they don't even have to be related.

National Rail - enquiries about UK rail services.
08457 48 49 50
(calls charged at local rates between 8.00am and 8.00pm Monday - Saturday and 9.00am - 8.00pm Sunday)
www.nationalrail.co.uk

National Traveline
0870 608 2608
www.traveline.org.uk

Leeds Train Station
www.networkrail.co.uk
www.livedepartureboards.co.uk/leeds

Metro (West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive) is the co-ordinating body for public transport in West Yorkshire. It is funded by the five West Yorkshire local authorities for Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield.
www.wymetro.com/traintravel

Metroline
0113 245 7676 (Monday - Saturday 8.00am - 7.00pm, Sundays and Bank Holidays 9.00am - 5.30pm)
For people with hearing difficulties, a Typetalk service is available on 0113 242 8888

Arriva Trains Northern
0870 120 1088
www.arriva.co.uk

First
www.firstgroup.com
www.firstleeds.co.uk

Great North Eastern Railway (GNER)
0845 722 5225
www.gner.co.uk

Virgin Trains
0345 222 333
www.virgintrains.co.uk

Midland Mainline
0345 125768
www.midlandmainline.com

Northern Rail
0845 000 0125
www.northernrail.org

Transpennine Express
0845 678 6974
www.tpexpress.co.uk

Journey Planner - plan a bus journey to and from any address within Yorkshire. Search for journeys between any two rail or coach stations nationwide, and enquire about any timetable in Yorkshire by using the service number, service description or operator.
0870 608 2608
www.yorkshiretravel.net

Leeds Travel Info provides live data to assist public transport and car journeys around Leeds. Features maps and up-to-the-minute information on traffic blackspots, roadworks and available car parking, as well as live departure boards for the airport and train station.
www.leedstravelinfo.co.uk

Transport Direct - information for door-to-door travel for both public transport and car journeys around Britain. Comprehensive, easy-to-use travel information to plan journeys effectively and efficiently.
www.transportdirect.info