Trams for Leeds 'could be waste of money'
A leaked government review of the plans to build tram lines in Leeds has concluded that buses would be cheaper. The Labour mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin had promised to get ‘spades in the ground’ by 2028, but the project has been pushed back into the 2030s after the Cabinet Office and the Treasury carried out an audit in September.
A West Midlands passenger service which was withdrawn as a wartime economy measure in January 1941 is running again. Although the closure of the Camp Hill line in Birmingham was originally said to be temporary, it was confirmed by the LMS in 1946. The line itself has continued to be used by through traffic.
The Government has outlined plans to help local councils make seamless travel on trains, trams and buses easier, but one transport campaigning group has warned that a truly integrated national transport system should be the long-term ambition. Other measures announced by the Department for Transport today include a new Google Maps partnership so that passengers can track rural buses and ‘Mini-Switzerland’ Peak District trials.
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