The West Yorkshire mass transit system is a proposed transport system connecting the larger conurbations of West Yorkshire, England, with a central hub at Leeds. The city of Leeds is known to be the largest city in Western Europe without a light rail or metro-style system.
Background
Mass transit systems have been considered in the region before, mostly focussing on Leeds, which had a Supertram project gaining royal assent in 1993 - conventional tramways existed in Leeds up until 1959.[1] The route was to have proceeded north from a point near to the old M621/M1 motorway junction[note 2] into central Leeds as route 1, with extensions north to Headingley, and east to the St James area.[2] By 2001, costings had increased to £487 million for the project,[3] and by the time the project was cancelled by Alistair Darling in 2004, over £39 million had been spent developing the system.[4][5]
A £250 million trolleybus system was also proposed, which was cancelled in 2016.[6]
Development
When the Integrated Rail Plan was released in November 2021, it was revealed that the eastern leg of the HS2 project into Leeds was cancelled. Instead, a mass transit system, as proposed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), was given funding to progress. Some have labelled this as a "consolation prize", whilst it has been noted that Leeds is the largest city in western Europe without a metro-style system.[7][8] The mass transit system aims to connect 675,000 people across the West Yorkshire region.[1] Additionally, the HS3 line across the Pennines was cancelled on its Yorkshire section. Proponents had hoped that this would see a through line and station built in Bradford. In March 2022, the transport minister, Andrew Stephenson, stated that the passenger numbers of those travelling between Bradford and Manchester was low compared to those travelling from Bradford to other places within West Yorkshire, which was why the government favoured a mass transit system and route upgrades, rather than building a new line.[9]
In March 2022, £200 million was approved to bring the project forward, with an estimated value of £2 billion.[10] However, the £200 million funding may be halved as £100 million may be allocated to investigate whether HS2 trains could travel to Leeds on conventional railway tracks.[11] In September 2022, a new study, called "The Leeds Study", was launched to look at the integrated rail plan of West Yorkshire, with a focus on capacity at Leeds railway station, and the development of the mass transit system.[12]
If approved, construction is expected to start in 2028, with the first services starting in 2031, and the whole system completed by 2040.[1] A report in September 2022 stated that two routes radiating from Bradford would be the first to be developed; Bradford to Dewsbury, and Bradford to Leeds.[13]
On 7 March 2024, the strategic outline case for the project was announced by WYCA. The first phase now proposes a Leeds Line running from St James's Hospital to White Rose Shopping Centre, and a Bradford Line running from Leeds to a new Bradford train station.[14] A future case for connecting Leeds to Dewsbury will be consulted on separately via a £1 million Dewsbury Line Development Project fund.[15]
On 14 March 2024, the strategic outline case was approved by the WYCA and will now be submitted to the Department of Transport for approval to continue with development of the scheme. A public consultation on the exact routes of phase one will be carried in Summer 2024.[16]
On 15 July 2024 initial route options for both lines were revealed, ahead of an 11 week consultation. A final decision on precise routing is expected to be taken in 2025.[17]
Notes
^A decision has yet to be taken on whether the system will be just one type, or a combination of the types listed here.
^The A1-M1 link road opened in 1999, and the original formation of the M1 was re-designated wholly as the M621.
References
^ abcHyde, Nathan (21 July 2022). "Updated services for mass transit may run in 2031". The Yorkshire Post. p. 9. ISSN0140-0460.
^Newman, Cathy (29 March 2001). "Prescott accused of U-turn on road schemes". Financial Times. p. 2. ISSN0307-1766.
^Bijl, Rob van der (2018). Light Rail Transit Systems : 61 Lessons in Sustainable Urban Development. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. p. 11. ISBN0128147849.
^Webster, Ben (24 August 2006). "£1 billion wasted on transport schemes that fail to arrive". The Times. No. 68787. p. 8. ISSN0140-0460.
