The number of commuters using trains coming into Leeds Station is set to more than double in the next generation, a report has said.
And Metro chairman councillor Chris Greaves has said the figures make investment in the West Yorkshire's rail network and rolling stock even urgent.
'Planning Ahead', a rail industry planning document prepared by Network Rail, the Association of Train Operating Companies and the Rail Freight Operators' Association, forecasts twice as many people commuting into Leeds and growth of up to 115 per cent on some routes within 25 years.
Annual rail passenger usage at Leeds Station has already increased from 14.7 million in 2004/05 to 24.3 million last year.
Greaves said:
"The predictions in this report make Metro's calls for investment in the local rail network infrastructure and additional rolling stock all the more urgent as the kind of improvements that would be needed take time to develop.
"These rises in commuter numbers would represent significant growth in the economy and as Metro, along with the CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce, has been saying, you need to maintain investment in transport projects to underpin that growth.
"Some of our peak-time trains are bursting at the seams and we have already heard this week that passengers in our region are concerned about overcrowding."
As reported earlier today, Greaves has written to the Transport Secretary Philip Hammond inviting him to come to Leeds and travel on some rush-hour trains to see for himself the effects of rolling stock shortages. He added:
"This report, along with the recent ATOC report on growing passenger numbers and this week's Passenger Focus survey results, makes it all the more important he accepts."
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