Funding secured for county'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 county.

According to West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the grant would mean "spades in the ground" by 2028, with the first trams operating before the mid-2030s.

Following 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 centres.

Brabin said the funding meant that "other vital projects" could also go ahead, such as new bus stations for Bradford and Wakefield.

That 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."

Today's announcement is a big leap forward for those who have long campaigned for trams to return to West Yorkshire's streets.

But political leaders will understand voters' scepticism after the failure of two previous schemes.

The proposed Supertram network was given the go ahead by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in 2001.

Early 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 Yorkshire.

The money pledged by government today will allow work to start.

But 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 Yorkshire.

About £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 2029.

South 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."

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