Mayor says construction on £2bn transport network will begin before she leaves office

The Labour mayor said people in Leeds are “definitely going to see spades in the ground” before she departs. She is looking to stand for re-election in 2024 and secure a second term, which would end in 2028.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has not finalised the route for the scheme, which is expected to cost more than £2bn and be fully operational in 2040, or decided whether trams, tram-train vehicles or modified buses will be used.

It is currently exploring plans for a network, which could consist of up to nine lines that link towns and cities across West Yorkshire, including Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield.

“We're definitely going to see spades in the ground on mass transit before I end up not being mayor," Ms Brabin told BBC Radio Leeds.

“We want the best tech: the most innovative, the greenest, the cleanest and also the cheapest. We’re going to have an amazing system.

“It’s a long haul, but I’m in for it.”

She added: “I can’t promise the Government is going to continue giving us the funding – it’s a £2bn project and we have £200m to start the work.

“But I am pressing the Government to confirm that whoever is in government will continue investing in mass transit.”

A consultation and the latest plan is due to end next week. WYCA will then conduct another consultation on the proposed routes, before it submits a full business case to the Government, to secure funding.

According to the plan, WYCA wants construction to begin before 2030 and ensure the network is fully operational by 2040.

A line linking Leeds, Bradford Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike and Dewsbury could be completed as part of phase one of the project before 2035, the plan added.

The Government said it was committed to ensuring the mass transit system is built, when it published its £96bn Integrated Rail Plan in November 2021. It also provided £200m which is being used to develop detailed plans for the network.

Kevin Murray, an infrastructure expert who has worked on a number of major transport project including Edinburgh Trams, was appointed as Interim Director of the scheme last year.

It is the third time political leaders have attempted to bring a mass transit system back to West Yorkshire, since Leeds’ tram network was shut down in 1959.

Plans for Leeds Supertram were abandoned by Tony Blair’s Government in 2005, due to concerns about the soaring cost, before a highly controversial bid to bring a £250m trolleybus network to the city was scrapped in 2016.