West Yorkshire's commuters are to benefit from more than 2,000 extra seats each day after Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced today that twenty additional rail carriages are to be deployed on routes into Leeds.

These additional carriages will be used to provide more peak-time capacity between Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, Bradford, Ilkley and Skipton.

"This is very good news for the many people who have to travel on overcrowded commuter services every day and also represents a welcome boost for the local economy in these difficult times," said Metro Chairman Cllr Chris Greaves.

"Passenger numbers on West Yorkshire's rail network have grown by over 50 per cent over the past decade but the only significant increase in train capacity over that period has come from Metro's innovative £20m partnership with Yorkshire Forward and Northern.

"That initiative saw the introduction of six additional trains or 1,700 additional seats on peak-time trains into and out of Leeds in 2006, but only went part-way to solving the overcrowding problem.

"We have been pressing for these additional carriages and are pleased that this announcement will see an additional 2,200 seats peak day on four of the busiest routes in and out of Leeds from December 2011."

£10m investment

The five additional, electric trains, each of four carriages, will allow an additional peak-time service to run each day on the lines to Ilkley, Doncaster and Skipton, with additional seats also available on the Leeds - Bradford Forster Square route. This in turn will allow some carriages to be released to provide more seats on the Caldervale Line between Leeds, Bradford, Halifax and Manchester.

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."

The additional carriages are planned to provide seating and standing capacity for an extra 3,173 passengers every day - 1,907 during the three-hour morning peak and 1,266 during the three-hour afternoon peak. The £10m investment covers the net cost of additional passenger services for the period from April 2011 to the Northern Rail franchise end date of 15 September 2013.

New rail stations

But Cllr Greaves added that he saw the introduction of the additional trains as only a first step in improving the local rail network.

"While this is very welcome news, I am conscious that other routes also suffer from overcrowding and I hope that further additional carriages will be secured in the near future," he said.

"The extra capacity will also help Metro's proposals for new stations at Kirkstall Forge, Apperley Bridge and Low Moor, and mean we can continue to develop local rail services as the quick, convenient and comfortable way to get around the City Region.

"West Yorkshire has a comprehensive inter-urban and suburban rail network, with 12 lines and 67 stations, which has a huge role to play in stimulating economic growth, combatting growing road congestion and reducing carbon emissions."