Passengers need to make sure they have their tickets ready when they travel through Leeds station as the new ticket gates go live on Sunday 26 October.

The 25 new automatic ticket gates are replacing the existing ticket booths making it easier for passengers to travel through the station.

Posters and leaflets explaining how the ticket gates work are available at the station and Northern’s station team will be on hand to help if you have any problems or are unsure what to do.

Steve Butcher, Area Director, Northern Rail said: “There has been a dramatic rise in the numbers of passengers using Leeds station in the last few years and the trend looks set to continue.

“These new ticket gates will help move people through the station more quickly and will help reduce anti-social behaviour.

“Our station team will continue to be on hand to help people use the new gates.”

Steve Thornton, station manager for Network Rail added: “Leeds is a very busy station with thousands of passengers travelling through every day. As owner and operator of the station we continue to work closely with Northern Rail to keep passenger journeys as simple as possible and help them to adapt to the new system."

Welcoming the introduction of the new ticket gates, Cllr Chris Greaves, Metro Chairman, said "The new gates will speed up the flow of passengers into and out of the station, including those MetroCard holders whose cards have the magnetic strip on the back. If you usually buy your MetroCard at a railway station, then it will work with the new gates, but all card holders will be able to pass through by showing their card to a member of staff, exactly as they do now."