Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Plan to build mass transit system to link up region

- By CHRIS YOUNG Local Democracy Reporter

AN INTERNATIO­NAL company that has worked on Los Angeles Internatio­nal Airport and a transport system in Kuala Lumpur has joined the project to build a mass transit system in West Yorkshire.

The proposed multi-billion pound system will link the region’s towns and cities and will include new stations and links in Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfie­ld, Wakefield, and Halifax.

It is being developed by West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Jacobs has been appointed as the lead consultant, on behalf of the McBains consortium, for the design and developmen­t of the scheme. The company has more than 50,000 employees across the world.

A company statement said: “With a population of 2.3 million and an economy of nearly £70bn, West Yorkshire remains the largest metropolit­an area in Europe without an urban transit system.

“The McBains Consortium will support the combined authority in turning its mass transit vision into future-made designs that better connect West Yorkshire’s most important places, help combat climate change, support a green recovery, and improve health and well-being for residents as part of re-balancing the UK economy.”

The developmen­t is yet to receive funding and is out to public consultati­on.

The early stages would include a line between Dewsbury and Bradford, and another linking Bradford and Leeds.

Further developmen­t could link Bradford to Halifax via a stop in

Queensbury, and a line from Bradford to Otley and Leeds Bradford Airport, including stops at Baildon, Shipley Guiseley and Menston.

It is hoped the West Yorkshire Devolution Deal would help access funding, and that constructi­on could start in the mid 2020s.

Head of mass transit at the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Tom Gifford said: “This is an important commission, especially as we continue to seek feedback around the West Yorkshire Mass Transit 2040 vision through the ongoing engagement on the West Yorkshire Connectivi­ty Plan.”

The company has been involved in a number of major transport schemes across the world, from California High Speed Rail, the Klang Valley mass rapid transit system in Kuala Lumpur, new connection­s in New York’s Grand Central Station and the redevelopm­ent of LaGuardia Airport in New York.

The Combined Authority’s Bradford district consultati­on sub-committee, made up of councillor­s and public transport users, was given an update on the proposals. They were told the systems would provide the “missing link” between areas of Bradford. And there would also be a stop at the new city centre Northern Powerhouse rail link.

Mr Gifford said the authority was looking at four possible types of technology for the system - advanced bus rapid transit similar to routes in Belfast, light rail/tram similar to a system in Birmingham and Dublin, a tram-train system similar to that used in Sheffield and an ultra light rail system yet to be introduced in any UK cities.

West Yorkshire remains the largest metropolit­an area in Europe without an urban transit system

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