image source, West Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Author, David Spreall
- Role, BBC news
Potential routes for West Yorkshire’s long-awaited public transport system have been revealed.
The plan, which will allow trams to run between cities in the region when completed, has been promised by West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin.
The first line, announced on Monday, will run between Leeds and Bradford, while the second will connect Leeds city center with the White Rose shopping center in the south of the city and St James’ Hospital in the north.
Several options have been put forward as to exactly how and where these lines will run and will now be subject to public consultation.
image source, West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Referring to Sunday night’s disappointment for the England football team, Ms Brabin said at a press conference on Monday morning: “Football may not be coming home, but public transport is.”
After decades of failed plans for Leeds and the surrounding area, she has promised to have spades in the ground by 2028.
No proposed tram stops have been published yet.
Speaking to BBC Look North, Ms Brabin said Leeds and Bradford were chosen for the first two routes because they were “our biggest city centers and are the worst connected”.
She also said she believed the new Labor government was behind the plan after talks with Chancellor and Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves last week.
Ms Reeves herself has said private sector funding is needed to build tram infrastructure.
Mrs Brabin said: “It’s important that we start with the backbone and from there we can build across West Yorkshire.
“It will be done. I know people are cynical but this is a project for the whole of West Yorkshire and all our local authority leaders are getting involved and chime in with the ambitions of this new government.”
“They are on a mission to grow. I believe they are with us and I believe in the future of West Yorkshire.”
Route options revealed
image source, Getty Images
Three potential routes for the Leeds-Bradford line, the trams could run either:
- Stanningley and Armley
- Laisterdyke and Armley
- Laisterdyke and Wortley
The four potential options where they would run from Leeds city center are:
- via East Parade and Infirmary Street
- from East Parade (north) and Park Row (south)
- from Cookridge Street and Park Row
- from Regent Street and The Headrow
Trams will also run to South Leeds
- via Dewsbury Road
- via Elland Road, Leeds United football ground and the Middleton ring road
- via Gelderd Road, Lowfields Road, Leeds United football ground and Old Lane
Tubes, Trams and Trains – A Brief History of Failed Transport Schemes in Leeds
image source, Getty Images
Home to 2.5 million people who mostly rely on buses, trains and private transport, West Yorkshire is one of Europe’s largest metropolitan areas without a public transport system.
There have been several attempts to develop such a system in Leeds, but most have hit the bumpers amid the complexity and cost of building it.
The city had a Victorian tram system connecting its sprawling suburbs until the 1950s, but this was closed as the car came into use. It was a decision much criticized with the benefit of hindsight by modern leaders, as cities such as Sheffield, Manchester and Edinburgh had built successful tram systems themselves.
In the 1930s, a subway-style subway system was proposed to be built around a downtown subway station. But with post-war austerity, this plan was shelved in 1945.
In the 1960s, an express bus network was proposed to link Leeds with Bradford and Wakefield, but it similarly failed.
Perhaps most infamously, the ‘Supertram’, brought forward in the 1990s, was another major project designed to better connect the city in the form of light rail. This project was originally supported by the New Labor government and was due to start in 2004, but was canceled due to rising costs.
The last iteration was the trolleybus scheme, which after four years of relocation was rejected by the government in 2016, saying the scheme was “not in the public interest”.
Analysis by Spencer Stokes, business and transport correspondent for BBC Look North
Two months after being re-elected, the mayor is wasting no time pushing ahead with plans for a tram system in West Yorkshire.
The details of individual routes mean that local communities can now be involved in the consultation process about exactly where tram lines will be installed and where individual tram stops could be.
Exactly which routes will be chosen will be decided next year before the Transport and Works Bill is brought before the government.
This is a legal process that allows the Mayor to access the estimated £2.5 billion that will be needed to start building work.
This money has not yet been signed by the Ministry of Finance.