View source for Leeds Supertram

{{Short description|Proposed transit system in Leeds, England}}
{{For|the first-generation trams operating until 1959|Leeds Corporation Tramways}}
{{For|the 2022 proposed tram system|West Yorkshire mass transit system}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox public transit
| name = Leeds Supertram
| image = Impression of Leeds Supertram.jpg
| imagesize = 300px
| caption = A 2001 artist's impression of Supertram in [[City Square, Leeds|City Square]]
| locale = [[Leeds]]
| transit_type = Electrified tramway
| began_operation =
| system_length = {{convert|28|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="railway-technology">{{cite web |url=http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/leeds/ |title=Leeds Supertram -, United Kingdom |website=Railway-Technology.com |access-date=31 March 2015}}</ref>
| track_gauge = {{Track gauge|sg|allk=on}}
| lines = 3
| stations = 50
| ridership =
| operator = [[West Yorkshire Metro]]
| map = [[File:Leeds Supertram.png|300px|]]<br>[[:Commons:File:Leeds Supertram.png|(Click to expand)]]
| map_name = Proposed system map
| map_state = show
}}
The '''Leeds Supertram''' was a proposed [[light rail]]/[[tram]] system in [[Leeds]] and [[West Yorkshire]] in [[England]]. It would have been a three-line, {{convert|17|miles|km|adj=on}} system with 50 stations. It received provisional government approval in 2001, and was specifically for corridors ill-served by the existing [[Passenger rail terminology#Heavy rail|heavy rail]] network. Supertram would have been 75% funded from the public sector, with final contracts for construction and a 27-year operating concession due to have been awarded in 2003.<ref name="RAIL">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Rail (magazine)|RAIL]] |title=Leeds is back at a rail crossroads |date=20 July 2016 |issue=805 |pages=46–51}}</ref> By 2004, disquiet about rising costs had caused the scheme to be scaled back, and it was finally cancelled in 2005 by the Transport Secretary, [[Alistair Darling]].

The northern branch would have served the universities and [[Headingley]], running to a [[park and ride]] site at [[Lawnswood]]. The eastern branch would have run to [[Seacroft]] and [[Whinmoor]], and the southern arm would have served [[Hunslet]], [[Belle Isle, Leeds|Belle Isle]] and [[Middleton, Leeds|Middleton]] with another park and ride by the [[M621 motorway]]. In the city centre, trams were to have linked to the bus and rail stations and shopping areas. Most of the double track route would have been segregated.<ref name="railway-technology"/>

==Proposals==
Proposals for the reinstatement of trams or a light rail system in Leeds which were withdrawn in 1959 have been ongoing since the 1970s with various plans for varying light rail systems including ones which had planned partially or fully underground routes in the city centre. The cancelled plans mentioned in this article had dated back to the early 1990s.

===Route===
The planned system included three lines, which were to have been:

*Line 1 (South Line), to [[Stourton, Leeds|Stourton]] and [[Tingley]] via [[Hunslet]], [[Belle Isle, Leeds|Belle Isle]] and [[Middleton, Leeds|Middleton]]
*Line 2 (North Line), to [[Weetwood]] via the [[University of Leeds]], [[Hyde Park, Leeds|Hyde Park]] and [[Headingley]]
*Line 3 (East Line), to [[Whinmoor]] via [[St James's University Hospital|St James's Hospital]], [[Harehills]] and [[Seacroft]]

All three lines would have met in [[Leeds city centre]] in a loop line running along [[The Headrow]], Park Row, Boar Lane, [[Kirkgate, Leeds|Kirkgate]] and behind [[Leeds Kirkgate Market|Kirkgate Market]].

The three lines were to have been the start of a wider system which included plans for other tram lines from Leeds city centre to [[Bradford]] via [[Armley]], [[Bramley, Leeds|Bramley]] and [[Stanningley]] and to [[Alwoodley]] via [[Chapeltown, Leeds|Chapeltown]], [[Chapel Allerton]] and [[Moortown, Leeds|Moortown]] (the latter being mentioned in the draft Leeds Unitary Development Plan).

==Funding delays==
Following long standing delays in attempting to gain funding throughout the 1990s due to rejections by the previous [[John Major]] administration, in 2002 Leeds was successful in acquiring central government funding for the construction of the scheme. Four consortia were shortlisted:<ref>Supetram shortlist ''[[Railway Gazette International]]'' April 2002 page 168</ref><ref>Leeds tram bidders named ''[[Rail (magazine)|Rail]]'' issue 432 3 April 2002 page 18</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/leeds/?cf-view|title=Leeds Supertram|date=26 May 2002|newspaper=Railway Technology|access-date=20 January 2025}}</ref>
*Airelink: ([[Arriva]], [[Siemens Mobility|Siemens]], [[Amec]], [[Transdev]])
*Leeds Tramways: ([[Stagecoach Group|Stagecoach]], [[Mowlem]], [[Atkins (company)|WS Atkins]])
*Leeds Tram Link: ([[Amey plc|Amey]], [[Bechtel]], [[MTR Corporation|MTR]], [[Egis Group|Egis]])
*Momentis: ([[FirstGroup]], [[Bombardier Transportation|Bombardier]], [[Bouygues]], [[Jarvis plc|Jarvis]])

Preparation work on Leeds Supertram had started in 2003 where preparatory work was done at [[City Square, Leeds|City Square]] and around the junction of the [[A61 road|A61 South Accommodation Road]] and [[A639 road|A639 Hunslet Road]].

==Project suspension and cancellation==
However, work to construct the system that was due to start in earnest in 2004 was suspended because of costs that were originally £500&nbsp;million had risen far above this level to figures around £1&nbsp;billion. This had resulted in a cut back to the system that would have seen Line 1 only go from the city centre to the park and ride site at Stourton and this would have saved £250&nbsp;million from the construction of the scheme and efforts were made to lower development costs along the other planned routes. However despite this in late 2005, Transport Minister [[Alistair Darling]] said that he would not give the go-ahead for the scheme, despite £40&nbsp;million having already been spent into the development of the scheme.<ref name="yp-2007">{{cite news |url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/the-not-so-super-tram-1-2105309 |title=The not so super tram |newspaper=[[Yorkshire Evening Post]] |date=5 June 2007 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308181710/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/the-not-so-super-tram-1-2105309 |archive-date=8 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Kieran Preston, the Director General of West Yorkshire Metro at the time of the Supertram project, claimed in 2013 that money could have been saved by finding new solutions to engineering problems, and by postponing a {{convert|4.3|mile|km|adj=on}} stretch of the southern line so that it would only run from Leeds city centre to Stourton park and ride. Preston said that the business case for Leeds Supertram was stronger than those for [[Nottingham Express Transit|Nottingham]] or [[Manchester Metrolink|Manchester]], but that the Labour government had spent the transport budget on railways and distorted the figures to say that Leeds could not afford it.<ref name="yp-2013">{{cite news |title=Kieran Preston: My life of public successes and private tragedy: the journey of transport chief |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/kieran-preston-my-life-public-successes-and-private-tragedy-journey-transport-chief-1866340 |access-date=15 February 2021 |work=[[The Yorkshire Post]] |date=26 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311070843/http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/analysis/brought-to-book-the-brewers-who-made-a-name-for-themselves-1-2471455 |archive-date=11 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="RAIL"/>

==Proposed alternatives==
===Trolleybus===
{{Main|Trolleybuses in Leeds}}
[[File:FTR Leeds bus 19017 (YJ56 EAF), 19 July 2009 (1).jpg|thumb|An FTR [[Wright StreetCar]] in Leeds city centre, 2009]]
Alternatives for the future of transport in Leeds have been discussed. The [[FTR (bus)|FTR]], a [[Bus rapid transit|Bus Rapid Transport (BRT)]] system operated by [[First West Yorkshire]], was introduced to the city in 2007. Research undertaken by [[West Yorkshire Metro]] and the government claimed that a BRT network could deliver some of the benefits of Supertram with lower capital costs due to unsegregated routes and greater flexibility, but with a higher long-term cost due to shorter life expectancy of rolling stock.<ref>{{cite report |author=Atkins |author-link=Atkins (company) |date=15 November 2005 |title=Study of High Quality Buses in Leeds |url=https://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/documents/s149464/app%20a%20g-4-55%20study%20of%20high%20quality%20buses%20in%20leeds%20atkins.pdf |publisher=Leeds City Council |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> The Leeds FTR service initially served the boroughs of [[Pudsey]] and [[Seacroft]] until the [[Wright StreetCar]]s were redeployed and refurbished in 2012 to operate on the Leeds-[[Bradford]] bus corridor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Robinson |first=Paul |date=14 June 2012 |title=Transport chiefs plan Leeds and Bradford bus overhaul |url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/transport-chiefs-plan-leeds-and-bradford-bus-overhaul-1-4643155 |url-status=dead |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |location= |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180702183229/https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/transport-chiefs-plan-leeds-and-bradford-bus-overhaul-1-4643155 |archive-date=2 July 2018 |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=15 June 2012 |title=First to redeploy York ftr's to Leeds-Bradford corridor in local authority backed project |url=https://www.transportxtra.com/publications/local-transport-today/news/31056/first-to-redeploy-york-ftr-s-to-leeds-bradford-corridor-in-local-authority-backed-project/ |work=TransportXtra |access-date=13 February 2022}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=First to launch new StreetCar buses in Bradford |url=https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/10004733.first-to-launch-new-streetcar-buses-in-bradford/ |work=[[Telegraph & Argus]] |location=Bradford |date=24 October 2012 |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref>

Another possibility investigated by Metro is a [[tram-train]] system. On such a system trams are capable of running onto mainline railways as well as on tracks built in city centres. A 2007 feasibility study proposed that the network would run alongside First's FTR network and could potentially be extended to [[Leeds Bradford Airport]] and [[York]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Small |first=Jeremy |date=29 November 2007 |title=Supertram plan backed |url=https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/1868658.supertram-plan-backed/ |work=The Press |location=York |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref>

A [[trolleybus]] network was approved by the government in 2012, which would have connected Leeds city centre to two park and ride sites in the north and south of the city by 2018. £173&nbsp;million would have been made available from the [[Department for Transport]] for the construction of the network. The plans were subject to further scrutiny by the government,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-24157980 |title=Leeds trolleybus plans considered by government |work=BBC News |date=19 September 2013|access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> however they were eventually dropped in 2016. By the time of the network's cancellation, £70&nbsp;million had been spent on both the trolleybus and Supertram networks.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=12 May 2016 |title='Not suitable for development': Leeds trolleybus scheme is thrown out |url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/politics/not-suitable-development-leeds-trolleybus-scheme-thrown-out-620369 |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |location=Leeds |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref>

Prior to the cancellation of the eastern leg of [[HS2]] in November 2021, reports emerged in the [[Daily Mail]] that the government would fund the construction of a tram network in Leeds as "consolation" for the cancelled [[high-speed rail]] link.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pagnelli|first=Joe|date=7 November 2021 |title=Reports Leeds tram network could finally happen if HS2 link scrapped|url=https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/leeds-news/reports-leeds-tram-network-could-22094849|access-date=14 November 2021|website=LeedsLive}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ormsby |first=Ben |date=24 November 2021 |title=City to be offered consolation prize as HS2 is set for sidings |url=https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/news/2084938-city-to-be-offered-consolation-prize-as-hs2-is-set-for-sidings |work=TheBusinessDesk |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> [[Leeds City Council]] criticised the proposals as being insufficient to replace the regional and national connections that would have been provided by HS2.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hakimian |first=Rob |date=10 November 2021 |title=Leeds tram proposal not a sufficient replacement for HS2 eastern leg, says council |url=https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/leeds-tram-proposal-not-a-sufficient-replacement-for-hs2-eastern-leg-says-council-10-11-2021/ |work=New Civil Engineer |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> Earlier in January 2021, the [[West Yorkshire Combined Authority]] had revealed plans to develop [[West Yorkshire mass transit system|a mass transit]] network, with options of [[light rail]], tram-trains or a BRT system being considered across West Yorkshire.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-55822915 |title=West Yorkshire 'transformational' mass transit plan revealed |work=BBC News |date=27 January 2021|access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://westleedsdispatch.com/mass-transit-system-could-have-stops-in-pudsey-bramley-and-wortley-as-plans-are-unveiled/ |title=Mass transit system could have stops in Pudsey, Bramley and Wortley as plans are unveiled |work=West Leeds Dispatch |date=27 January 2021|access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> The government commitment was restated in a party conference speech in 2023, this time as consolation for the cancelled Phase 2b to Manchester.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rishi Sunak promises more rail, road and bus links |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67005036 |access-date=4 October 2023 |work=BBC News |date=4 October 2023}}</ref>
===New proposal===
{{main| West Yorkshire mass transit system}}

On 7 March 2024, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority announced plans to build a tram line connecting Leeds and Bradford in several phases. Phase one would include two lines serving Leeds and Bradford, the Leeds Line and the Bradford Line. The Leeds Line would take people between St James’ Hospital, through Leeds city centre and on to Elland Road and the White Rose Shopping Centre. The Bradford Line would run from Leeds city centre to Bradford city centre – also linking Bradford Forster Square station with the new Bradford rail station. This line supports Bradford's plans to regenerate the city’s southern gateway, which includes the new Bradford rail station. The Combined Authority would also work with Kirklees Council to look into how to include a Dewsbury Line in future.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/all-news-and-blogs/mayor-sets-out-plan-for-west-yorkshire-tram-system-to-better-connect-region/ |title=Mayor sets out plan for West Yorkshire tram system to better-connect region |work=West Yorkshire Combined Authority |date=7 March 2024|access-date=8 March 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web | url=http://www.lrta.org/leeds.html | publisher= Light Rail Transit Association| title=Proposed Leeds Supertram | access-date=14 November 2007}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051215230641/http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=176251&NewsAreaID=2 Announcement of withdrawal of funding and new emphasis on BRT]
*[http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_localtrans/documents/page/dft_localtrans_610538-01.hcsp Summary of BRT study with links to full document]

{{UK busway}}
{{UK light rail}}

[[Category:Tram transport in England]]
[[Category:Transport in Leeds]]
[[Category:Abandoned light rail projects in the United Kingdom]]