The railway station is situated on a hill falling from the south of the city to the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal basin.
Much of it is supported on Victorian brick-vaulted arches situated just off Neville Street which contain a centre consisting of cafés, restaurants, shops and exhibition spaces called Granary Wharf, known locally as the Dark Arches.

The railway station has 17 platforms, making it the largest by number of platforms in England outside London.
There are 11 terminus and six through platforms.
Most platforms are subdivided into up to four sections, i.e. 1a, 1b, 1c etc.
Altogether, including the numbers, there are 47 platforms.
Retail facilities in the station include coffee shops, fast food outlets, a bar, newsagents, chemists and supermarkets.
A British Transport Police station on New Station Street houses officers who police the West Yorkshire railway stations.

Leeds railway station retained manned ticket barriers through the 1990s until 2008, when they were replaced by automatic barriers by Northern to reduce congestion around the barriers at peak times.

Platforms
Platform usage varies depending on operational circumstances but is generally:
1–5 – Bay platforms mostly used by MetroTrain services operated by Northern, towards Harrogate, Ilkley, Bradford Forster Square and Skipton.

6, 8 – 6 is a Bay Platform used for terminating London North Eastern Railway services from London, 8 is a through platform used for London North Eastern Railway services which both terminate and continue onward to Bradford, Harrogate and Skipton, as well as the early morning LNER departure to Aberdeen.

8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16 – through platforms.
CrossCountry services heading north to York and beyond depart from platforms 8, 9 or 11; services heading south use platform 12.
Platforms 15 and 16 are used by north/east and south/westbound TransPennine Express services to Hull, Newcastle, York, Scarborough and Middlesbrough and Huddersfield, Manchester Airport and Liverpool Lime Street.

7, 14 – Bay platforms used for local Northern services running north/east from Leeds.

10, 13, 17 – Bay platforms used for local and regional services running south/west to Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, alongside southbound services towards Wakefield, Barnsley, Meadowhall, Sheffield and Nottingham.
The railway station is situated on a hill falling from the south of the city to the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal basin. Much of it is supported on Victorian brick-vaulted arches situated just off Neville Street which contain a centre consisting of cafés, restaurants, shops and exhibition spaces called Granary Wharf, known locally as the Dark Arches.
The railway station has 17 platforms, making it the largest by number of platforms in England outside London. There are 11 terminus and six through platforms. Most platforms are subdivided into up to four sections, i.e. 1a, 1b, 1c etc. Altogether, including the numbers, there are 47 platforms. Retail facilities in the station include coffee shops, fast food outlets, a bar, newsagents, chemists and supermarkets. A British Transport Police station on New Station Street houses officers who police the West Yorkshire railway stations.
Leeds railway station retained manned ticket barriers through the 1990s until 2008, when they were replaced by automatic barriers by Northern to reduce congestion around the barriers at peak times.
Platforms
Platform usage varies depending on operational circumstances but is generally:
1–5 – Bay platforms mostly used by MetroTrain services operated by Northern, towards Harrogate, Ilkley, Bradford Forster Square and Skipton.
6, 8 – 6 is a Bay Platform used for terminating London North Eastern Railway services from London, 8 is a through platform used for London North Eastern Railway services which both terminate and continue onward to Bradford, Harrogate and Skipton, as well as the early morning LNER departure to Aberdeen.
8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16 – through platforms. CrossCountry services heading north to York and beyond depart from platforms 8, 9 or 11; services heading south use platform 12. Platforms 15 and 16 are used by north/east and south/westbound TransPennine Express services to Hull, Newcastle, York, Scarborough and Middlesbrough and Huddersfield, Manchester Airport and Liverpool Lime Street.
7, 14 – Bay platforms used for local Northern services running north/east from Leeds.
10, 13, 17 – Bay platforms used for local and regional services running south/west to Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, alongside southbound services towards Wakefield, Barnsley, Meadowhall, Sheffield and Nottingham.
Leeds railway station