The mass transit network Leeds should actually build
The Weaver Metro is our proposed mass transit network for Leeds and West Yorkshire that uses existing railway infrastructure where possible, builds new tram infrastructure only where needed and is delivered within the £2.1bn Transport for City Regions funding envelope available for 2027 to 2032.
£1.86bn to £1.93bn
Total programme cost, both phases
£166m to £236m
Headroom against the £2.1bn envelope
£231.2m
Phase 1, deliverable with no new track
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Stations and stops on the completed network
In brief
Leeds is the largest city in Europe without a mass transit system. Despite what HMT says, we believe the case for investment is settled. The question this proposal answers is how that investment should be made so that it is affordable, deliverable and visible to passengers quickly.
Phase 1 upgrades seven existing rail corridors serving Bradford, Horsforth, Wakefield, Dewsbury and Garforth to metro standard through full electrification, station upgrades, leased electric trains and unified branding and ticketing. It requires no new tracks and is deliverable within the current mayoral term for £231.2m.
Phase 2 builds the city centre Tram spine those rail corridors feed into, adopting the L1 alignment through Leeds endorsed at public consultation, and extends the network into communities no railway serves: new stations at Laisterdyke, Armley and Elland Road, tram extensions to Seacroft and Belle Isle, and a direct airport express to the Leeds Bradford Airport terminal. Phase 2 costs £1,633m to £1,703m net.
The combined programme totals £1.86bn to £1.93bn, inside the £2.1bn envelope across the whole of its cost range, with £166m to £236m of headroom held as contingency.
Explore the proposal
The method has precedent
The approach, taking existing or underused railway, raising it to a common standard, unifying it under one identity and connecting it through the city centre is exactly how the Docklands Light Railway (opened 1987 for £77m), Manchester Metrolink and the London Overground were built. In each case ridership exceeded what the physical works alone would have predicted.
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