Trolleybuses look set to return to the UK as Leeds prepares to submit a Transport and Works Order for their installation.

The Leeds scheme was approved by the Government last year and the City Council will submit its proposals to the Transport Secretary in September after the Council voted in favour of the scheme last month.

A trolleybus is an electric bus which receives its power from twin contact wires strung above the street from traction poles, which can double as street lamps. They are cheaper to build and run than tramways and can overtake each other. They are said to have faster acceleration compared with diesel buses and are kinder to the environment. The last British trolleybus ran in Bradford in 1972.

The Leeds trolleybus scheme, known as New Generation Transport, is budgeted at £250M. Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Metro would pay £77M with the remaining £173M coming from the Department for Transport.

An 13km route would run from Bodington Hall and Holt Park park-and-ride car parks in the north through Leeds city centre, over the A660 and then along the A61 to a park-and-ride car park at Stourton to the south of the city. A total of 3150 car park spaces will be provided. Running is expected to be largely in bus lanes. The route will be worked by articulated single deck vehicles.

West Yorkshire Metro chairman Cllr James Lewis said that trolleybuses are the most energy efficient form of public transport available and that a tramway scheme was abandoned for the city in 2005 on cost grounds.

A public enquiry will be held in the spring with work planned to begin in 2016 and be finished in 2018.

(Photo: Leeds New Generation Transport)

To return to the newsletter, please close this window.