Latest news with #massTransit
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
The long road to get 'Motorway City' on track with trams
Regarded as the largest city in western Europe without a mass transit system, Leeds has tried and failed over decades to devise and implement an efficient way to keep its residents mobile. After more than £2bn was pledged for public transport infrastructure in West Yorkshire, we look back at the previous plans which hit the buffers. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has agreed to fund the construction of a mass transit system connecting Leeds and Bradford A total of £2.1bn has been pledged for transport projects with promises of "spades in the ground by 2028" and the first trams running in the "early 2030s". But Leeds has a long history of lines being drawn on maps, endless public consultations and promises of cash – without ever seeing tracks laid. So will it be different this time? Leeds lost its sprawling tram network in 1959 but, just 15 years earlier, civic planners had been contemplating tunnelling beneath the city centre to create an underground system. A fascinating drawing from the era shows an extensive passenger interchange below the Black Prince statue in City Square with bright blue trams heading off to destinations such as Roundhay Park, Guiseley and Morley. But in a war-ravaged economy, other projects took priority. The subway was never built and the trams stayed above ground until their demise at the end of the 1950s. Leeds did eventually get subterranean transport - in the form of the inner ring road motorway which dives under the city centre. At the time, urban road schemes were a source of pride and the slogan "Leeds - Motorway City of the Seventies" was even stamped onto envelopes at the Royal Mail's sorting office in the city. As car ownership grew the roads filled up, average speeds plummeted and the decision to scrap a tram network, much of it running on tracks separated from the road, appeared short-sighted. The late 1980s saw the first serious attempt to get some form of light rail network back into the city. In 1988, the Passenger Transport Executive for West Yorkshire - Metro - proposed MetroLine, a new tramway running run from Leeds Town Hall, via Eastgate and Quarry Hill along the A64 to Colton. "It would have effectively followed the route of the old tram," says Clifford Stead from Leeds Civic Trust. "It was a simple route that would have put Leeds at the forefront of new tram lines in the UK." Costed at about £120m, Leeds found itself pitted against Greater Manchester in a race to win approval from Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government. According to Mr Stead, Leeds lost out because although Metro backed the plan Leeds City Council were lukewarm. Manchester's Metrolink got the go-ahead and four decades later its bright yellow trams and 65-mile network are synonymous with public transport on the other side of the Pennines. Undeterred, Leeds formulated a new plan. If Manchester was getting trams, Leeds would reach that little bit higher. And so Leeds Advanced Transit (LAT) was born. Priced at £1bn in 1991, this was a Vancouver-style elevated railway threading its way from Tingley through the city centre to St James's Hospital and Seacroft. Dismissed as "pie-in-the-sky" by critics, the LAT sank without trace. Government funds earmarked for the city's sky-train were diverted to Sheffield where the more grounded and cheaper South Yorkshire Supertram won the backing of ministers. The new Labour government elected in 1997 offered fresh hope to Leeds with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescot promising 25 new tram schemes across the country. Trams were now seen as being a fundamental part of the green transport revolution and in 2001 he gave Leeds Supertram the go-ahead - a £500m three-line network radiating from the city, north towards Headingley, east to Seacroft and south to Middleton and Tingley. Preparatory works got under way, with diggers excavating land on Great Wilson Street in Hunslet. But when costs began to rise the government went cool on the project. Prescott was no longer responsible for transport schemes and his successor, Alistair Darling, pulled the plug, telling Leeds that it would only get funding if it came back with a "bus-based alternative". And so from the ashes of Supertram, the Trolleybus was born. Dubbed New Generation Transport (NGT) this was an austerity-era attempt to finally get some form of transit system into Leeds. Electric buses, powered by overhead lines, would run on a route that was partly separated from cars. Costing £250m, it was substantially cheaper than Supertram but critics said it lacked ambition, while others branded it a costly white elephant, noting that nowhere else in the UK had built a new trolleybus line. The government rejected NGT after a planning inspector said the scheme was "not in the public interest" and wouldn't "reduce congestion and/or enhance the quality of life in the area it would serve". In a decades-long game of transport snakes and ladders, Leeds was back at square one again. Could the latest proposal be the last roll of the dice? Mass Transit stands out from its predecessors because it reaches beyond Leeds. Sketched out as a region-wide scheme stretching from Halifax in the west to Pontefract in the east, Mass Transit is distilled down to just two lines costing £2.5bn. One would serve Leeds, linking the city's two hospitals, the railway station, Elland Road Stadium and the White Rose Shopping Centre. A second route would head west, taking trams back into Bradford and connecting the city's Interchange and Forster Square railway stations. Further routes could be added in the future, but initially a balance between long-term ambition and short-term deliverability appear to have influenced the planning. Tom Forth, an expert in transport data at Open Innovations in Leeds, says that trams work because "they deliver faster and more importantly reliable journey times, so if the tram says it's going to take 28 minutes, and it's separated from the road traffic, it takes 28 minutes, and that's just not the case with buses". West Yorkshire's Mayor Tracy Brabin says this time it will "absolutely be delivered", vowing that spades will be in the ground in 2028. But as Supertram showed, even the appearance of workers in high-vis and hard hats doesn't guarantee the arrival of the ever-elusive Leeds tram. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Funding secured for county's £2.1bn tram project Chancellor announces £15bn for transport projects Department for Transport West Yorkshire Combined Authority
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Leeds' long road to gaining a mass transit system
Regarded as the largest city in western Europe without a mass transit system, Leeds has tried and failed over decades to devise and implement an efficient way to keep its residents mobile. After more than £2bn was pledged for public transport infrastructure in West Yorkshire, we look back at the previous plans which hit the Rachel Reeves has agreed to fund the construction of a mass transit system connecting Leeds and BradfordA total of £2.1bn has been pledged for transport projects with promises of "spades in the ground by 2028" and the first trams running in the "early 2030s".But Leeds has a long history of lines being drawn on maps, endless public consultations and promises of cash – without ever seeing tracks will it be different this time? Underground Metro Leeds lost its sprawling tram network in 1959 but, just 15 years earlier, civic planners had been contemplating tunnelling beneath the city centre to create an underground system.A fascinating drawing from the era shows an extensive passenger interchange below the Black Prince statue in City Square with bright blue trams heading off to destinations such as Roundhay Park, Guiseley and in a war-ravaged economy, other projects took priority. The subway was never built and the trams stayed above ground until their demise at the end of the did eventually get subterranean transport - in the form of the inner ring road motorway which dives under the city the time, urban road schemes were a source of pride and the slogan "Leeds - Motorway City of the Seventies" was even stamped onto envelopes at the Royal Mail's sorting office in the car ownership grew the roads filled up, average speeds plummeted and the decision to scrap a tram network, much of it running on tracks separated from the road, appeared short-sighted. MetroLine The late 1980s saw the first serious attempt to get some form of light rail network back into the 1988, the Passenger Transport Executive for West Yorkshire - Metro - proposed MetroLine, a new tramway running run from Leeds Town Hall, via Eastgate and Quarry Hill along the A64 to Colton."It would have effectively followed the route of the old tram," says Clifford Stead from Leeds Civic Trust."It was a simple route that would have put Leeds at the forefront of new tram lines in the UK."Costed at about £120m, Leeds found itself pitted against Greater Manchester in a race to win approval from Margaret Thatcher's Conservative to Mr Stead, Leeds lost out because although Metro backed the plan Leeds City Council were Metrolink got the go-ahead and four decades later its bright yellow trams and 65-mile network are synonymous with public transport on the other side of the Pennines. Leeds Advanced Transit Undeterred, Leeds formulated a new Manchester was getting trams, Leeds would reach that little bit so Leeds Advanced Transit (LAT) was at £1bn in 1991, this was a Vancouver-style elevated railway threading its way from Tingley through the city centre to St James's Hospital and as "pie-in-the-sky" by critics, the LAT sank without funds earmarked for the city's sky-train were diverted to Sheffield where the more grounded and cheaper South Yorkshire Supertram won the backing of ministers. Supertram The new Labour government elected in 1997 offered fresh hope to Leeds with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescot promising 25 new tram schemes across the were now seen as being a fundamental part of the green transport revolution and in 2001 he gave Leeds Supertram the go-ahead - a £500m three-line network radiating from the city, north towards Headingley, east to Seacroft and south to Middleton and works got under way, with diggers excavating land on Great Wilson Street in when costs began to rise the government went cool on the was no longer responsible for transport schemes and his successor, Alistair Darling, pulled the plug, telling Leeds that it would only get funding if it came back with a "bus-based alternative". New Generation Transport And so from the ashes of Supertram, the Trolleybus was New Generation Transport (NGT) this was an austerity-era attempt to finally get some form of transit system into buses, powered by overhead lines, would run on a route that was partly separated from £250m, it was substantially cheaper than Supertram but critics said it lacked ambition, while others branded it a costly white elephant, noting that nowhere else in the UK had built a new trolleybus government rejected NGT after a planning inspector said the scheme was "not in the public interest" and wouldn't "reduce congestion and/or enhance the quality of life in the area it would serve".In a decades-long game of transport snakes and ladders, Leeds was back at square one again. Mass Transit Could the latest proposal be the last roll of the dice?Mass Transit stands out from its predecessors because it reaches beyond out as a region-wide scheme stretching from Halifax in the west to Pontefract in the east, Mass Transit is distilled down to just two lines costing £ would serve Leeds, linking the city's two hospitals, the railway station, Elland Road Stadium and the White Rose Shopping Centre.A second route would head west, taking trams back into Bradford and connecting the city's Interchange and Forster Square railway routes could be added in the future, but initially a balance between long-term ambition and short-term deliverability appear to have influenced the Forth, an expert in transport data at Open Innovations in Leeds, says that trams work because "they deliver faster and more importantly reliable journey times, so if the tram says it's going to take 28 minutes, and it's separated from the road traffic, it takes 28 minutes, and that's just not the case with buses".West Yorkshire's Mayor Tracy Brabin says this time it will "absolutely be delivered", vowing that spades will be in the ground in as Supertram showed, even the appearance of workers in high-vis and hard hats doesn't guarantee the arrival of the ever-elusive Leeds tram. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
UK city reveals plans for new trams as part of £800million transport upgrade – after they were scrapped 84 years ago
A TRAM line could be on the cards after planned changes to key roads in the city centre are set to create an 'unbroken' corridor — a crucial step towards building a future mass transit network. In Bristol, the proposed route would run from the Long Ashton park and ride in the south-west, through the city centre, and along the M32 to the north-east, largely separated from other traffic. 4 4 Transport leaders say it's a strong contender for the first phase of a tram or rapid bus line. Over the next two years, significant roadworks will take place at several central hotspots including Bedminster Bridges roundabout, Redcliffe roundabout, Union Street, the Haymarket, and Bond Street. These upgrades will benefit the existing Metrobus M2 and set the groundwork for a future tram or rapid bus route. Transport officials at Bristol City Council say this new 'red route' could form the spine of a tram network. Speaking to councillors on the transport policy committee, Green Cllr Emma Edwards said: 'This route in future could potentially turn into a mass rapid transit route, whatever that might mean: more buses or maybe other modes as well. "We're trying to solve a problem for the future by creating an unbroken route that could turn into mass transit. "We're trying to think about the long term.' While the exact form of the network is still under discussion, trams and bus rapid transit are the main options being explored. The idea of a mass transit system for Bristol has been debated for decades. Former mayor Marvin Rees had proposed a partially underground system, but the spiralling cost halted progress. In 2023, former West of England Mayor Dan Norris vetoed the underground element entirely, calling it 'unrealistic'. Since then, the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has continued to explore alternative solutions — without agreeing on whether a tram or bus system is best. Labour's Helen Godwin, the newly elected metro mayor, has yet to commit to a specific plan. Meanwhile, Bristol City Council is pushing forward with the groundwork. Adam Crowther, head of city transport, said: 'Whether mass transit there ends up as a bus or a tram, either way it needs to be fully segregated from traffic, otherwise you get stuck and that's when they become unreliable and therefore people don't want to use them. "So it's about providing that full segregation.' He acknowledged that new bus lanes on Bond Street will worsen car traffic in the short term. 4 But councillors hope the changes will encourage more people to leave their cars at home in favour of public transport or cycling, reducing congestion in the long run. Labour Cllr Tim Rippington added: 'One bus carrying 50 passengers really should be given priority, in my opinion, over 25 cars queuing up. "I don't see a problem with stopping the traffic in order to allow a bus to pass by. It's all designed to deliver this red route. "The worst thing that could happen is that we deliver all the infrastructure and then the lanes stay empty and we don't deliver the mass transit route until 10 years later. "I'm not even sure that the new metro mayor is aware that this route is our plan.' Redcliffe roundabout changes will also enable a potential orbital bus loop around the city centre, initially running anti-clockwise. Left turns are easier to implement than right turns, but funding remains uncertain. Franchising may be required if commercial bus companies are unwilling to take it on. The full red route begins at Long Ashton park and ride, travels along a bus-only road to Cumberland Road, and then through the newly controlled Bedminster Bridges junction. Redcliff Street will become bus-only, and a bus gate at Bristol Bridge already blocks general traffic. From there, it heads through Union Street and past Primark at the Haymarket. Further bus lanes are proposed along the M32, with a new park and ride to be built, though the location is still being debated. In the long term, the motorway could be downgraded to an A-road to accommodate tram or bus stops. WECA is currently developing an outline business case to assess the best way forward. Construction, however, is unlikely to begin before the 2030s. 4
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Funding will not build Bristol and Bath tram 'overnight', mayor says
Trams could make a return to Bristol and Bath with the announcement hundreds of millions of pounds of new transport funding. The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is to spend some of a new £750m funding allocation on looking at mass transit - most of which will be spent on improving bus and local rail award was part of £15.6bn transport funding announced by the while newly-elector mayor Helen Godwin welcomed the funding, £200m of which would be spent on developing mass transit, she made it clear it would not buy a new tram system "overnight". The money covers a five-year period from West of England is getting the lowest funding of any city region – partly because its population is smaller than most."That money is not going to buy us a tram network overnight, we've got to be clear about that," Ms Godwin said. "That money can give us a much-improved bus network," she added. "We can also start to move on our suburban rail network." Ms Godwin was elected Metro Mayor on 1 May, bringing to an end the troubled tenure of Dan his four years in charge WECA was put into special measures after a series of public rows with council the disagreements was over the possibility of an underground idea is not now being talked Ms Godwin stresses her wish for good relations with local councils, including North Somerset which is likely to eventually join WECA. She will work with them on one particular priority – improving links to the airport."We have got an airport which is the only one in the country which isn't connected by mass transit of any form," she said. "So it would be remiss for us not to be looking at that."The new money is not enough to fund that but the hope is that it could pave the way.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Funding secured for West Yorkshire's £2.1bn tram project
A project to bring trams back to West Yorkshire has received a major funding boost from the government. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that £2.1bn of local transport funding would be allocated to the to West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the grant would mean "spades in the ground" by 2028, with the first trams operating before the the announcement, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: "It is time for trams. Today is a huge moment for our region." The first phase of the £2.5bn mass transit programme is expected to see the creation of two tram lines. A Leeds line will run from St James's University Hospital through the city centre to the White Rose Centre, while a Bradford Line will connect Bradford and Leeds city said the funding meant that "other vital projects" could also go ahead, such as new bus stations for Bradford and would "help us create a better-connected region that works for all", she said. The combined authority is expected to publish its preferred route options for the tram system later this year, with a full public consultation planned for 2026. According to the authority, the scheme would improve local transport for 675,000 people and benefit West Yorkshire's most deprived communities. James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: "Delivering a tram system will transform connectivity across our city, and between Leeds and Bradford, bringing jobs and opportunities within easier reach of thousands of local people." Analysis: Spencer Stokes, BBC Yorkshire business and transport correspondent Today's announcement is a big leap forward for those who have long campaigned for trams to return to West Yorkshire's political leaders will understand voters' scepticism after the failure of two previous proposed Supertram network was given the go ahead by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in building work got under way, but the project was cancelled by Transport Secretary Alastair Darling in 2005 due to rising costs.A proposed electric bus system with overhead wires, known as New Generation Transport, was then promised - before it was also axed after a planning inspector ruled it was "not in the public interest".The new tram network – being called a mass transit scheme - is a region-wide proposal serving Leeds and Bradford initially, with the ambition to extend it to other towns and cities in West money pledged by government today will allow work to with an estimated cost of at least £2.5bn, additional finance will be needed. Meanwhile, the government has also allocated £1.5bn of local transport funding to South £530m of the money is expected to go towards renewing the county's tram network, providing a fleet of new vehicles and modernising tram stops.A £350m cash injection is also expected to see the reform of bus services, with franchised buses operating in Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham by 2027, and across the whole of South Yorkshire by Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard called the investment "game-changing" for communities."It will mean new and better buses, new electric vehicles, integrated ticketing and better information," he said. "It will mean new trams and better tram stops and lays the foundation for extending the tram network. "It will mean that our young people will be able to get to jobs and opportunities; that we can all access services, see friends and family, or go for a day, or a night out, without worrying how to get home." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
