Following today’s announcement by the Department for Transport that Leeds is set to gain 2000 extra seats a day on commuter services, Northern Rail has said they are ‘delighted.’
Ian Bevan, Managing Director, Northern Rail said:
“We are delighted with today’s announcement. We’ve attracted 36% more passengers since we began operating in 2004 and have been working closely with the Department for Transport and other partners to introduce much needed additional capacity.
“These carriages will enable us to provide an extra 600,000 seats every year for passengers on peak time services in and around Leeds from December.”
Passenger Focus have also welcomed the news.
Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus’ Chief Executive said:
“This is good news as overcrowding has been an ongoing issue for passengers travelling on this part of the rail network for too long. These extra carriages will go a long way to alleviating the problem.
“Going forward, we look forward to progress being made on the government’s commitment to introduce a national measure of overcrowding to make sure that industry and government can address those areas with the biggest problems and plan railway resources in a way that responds to passenger demand.”
