Leeds trains: Station closure update after 'signalling' fault as passengers hit by hours of chaos and confusion
Leeds City Station has reopened following a major fault that caused hours of chaos and confusion for rail passengers.
Operators were forced to close the city’s main train transport hub - one of the UK’s busiest - and all services were cancelled.
National Rail, which issues updates on behalf of train operating companies, published a statement confirming the station had now reopened at 2.02am on Sunday (July 27).
The organisation said: “The fault with the signalling system in the Leeds area yesterday has been fixed and trains are able to operate through the area as normal.”
TransPennine Express tickets for travel on July 26 will be valid for use on July 27, National Rail said.
It comes as the city prepares to host the Ironman triathlon in Leeds today, where thousands of competitors have travelled to the city to take part this weekend with mass road closures.
Departure boards this morning show trains to all destinations departing on time, expect a cancelled 8.11am CrossCountry service to Plymouth which it said was due to “a shortage of train drivers”.
It came after travel plans across the region were thrown into chaos with widespread delays following the closure yesterday.
Departure and arrival boards showed every single service cancelled throughout the late afternoon and evening on Saturday, impacting hundreds of passengers.
Announcing the closure at about 4pm on Saturday, National Rail said in a statement: “No trains are able to run to / from / through Leeds and will be cancelled, delayed by up to 120 minutes, revised or diverted,” the statement said.
“Leeds station is currently closed. Major disruption is expected until the end of the day.”
One elderly passenger told the YEP how staff were left bewildered on a packed Leeds-bound service.
They said: “We were stuck for ages with broken aircon on the Carlisle train.
“At first even the train crew had no idea what was happening. But once they knew it was a major failure, they were great at keeping us informed until we got moving again.”
Other passengers took to social media to share their frustration after journeys were hit by hours of delays.
“Me and my friends got stuck in Skipton had to pay £45 for a taxi home,” one woman said.
Another woman said: “Took me 3 hours to get back to Garforth from Selby ended up getting a bus.”
And one passenger said it took them three hours to get home from Keighley via Leeds.
“Riding the bus soon lost its fun,” they added.