The Anonymous Widower

Leeds Bradford Airport Parkway Station Plans On The Cards For A Decade – Why It Might Not Happen

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on YorkshireLive.

This is the sub-heading.

West Yorkshire leaders have launched another review into how the scheme could work

These three paragraphs add some detail.

It was a full decade ago – in December 2016 – when local leaders in West Yorkshire settled on the idea of building a parkway rail station for passengers to get to and from Leeds Bradford Airport.

Emerging from the ashes of the failed trolleybus scheme to bring mass transit to the city, which collapsed due to lack of government support earlier that year, the idea formed part of “an ambitious new transport strategy for Leeds”.

A train directly to the airport was considered too costly and disruptive, with local officials preferring the idea of a station nearby on the existing Leeds to Harrogate line, connected to the airport by a high-frequency shuttle bus.

I think the local officials could be right.

This Open Railway Map shows the location of Leeds Bradford Airport, with respect to Horsforth station.

Note.

  1. The yellow track running roughly North-South is the Leeds and Harrogate Line.
  2. Harrogate station is at the top of the map.
  3. Harrogate has two trains per hour to Leeds, Knaresbough and York, that are run by Northern.
  4. Harrogate has six trains per day to and from King’s Cross and Leeds, that are run by LNER.
  5. Horsforth station is indicated by the blue arrow.
  6. Horsforth has two trains per hour to Leeds, Harrogate, Knaresbough and York, that are run by Northern.
  7. Horsforth has six trains per day to and from King’s Cross, Leeds and Harrogate, that are run by LNER.
  8. Horsforth is a few miles South-East of Leeds Bradford Airport.

In A Station For Leeds/Bradford Airport, I put down my best ideas for 2017.

But things have moved on in nine years.

  • There are some good shuttle buses on the roads of the UK.
  • Powerful hydrogen-powered buses, that can climb the hills to the airport are now available.
  • Leeds seems to be getting a Metro.
  • Tram-trains have not taken off in the UK.

I can see that a hydrogen-powered shuttle bus would be the best way to serve the airport.

This map shows the railway between Harrogate and York, and down to Horsforth.

Note.

  1. Harrogate station is indicated by the blue arrow.
  2. The yellow track across the top of the map goes between Harrogate and York via Knaresborough.
  3. York is a major rail interchange on the East Coast Main Line.
  4. The yellow track running roughly North-South is the Leeds and Harrogate Line.
  5. There are two trains per hour between Leeds and York, via Horsforth, Harrogate and Knaresborough and York, that are run by Northern.
  6. There are six trains per day between Harrogate and King’s Cross, via Horsforth, Leeds, Wakefield Westgate, Doncaster, Newark Northgate and Stevenage, that are run by LNER, which some travellers using Leeds Bradford Airport might find useful.

Perhaps there should be a second shuttle bus between Leeds Bradford Airport and Harrogate station.

 

 

 

October 22, 2026 - Posted by | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments yet.

Leave a Comment