Secret West Yorkshire mass transit review advises of 'significantly better' cost benefits of bus network

Ms Brabin has pledged to bring trams back to the streets of Leeds and Bradford and has staked her reputation on the success of the £2.5bn projects.

Leeds is the biggest city in Europe without a mass transit network, with multiple previous projects falling by the wayside.

Ms Brabin has promised to get spades in the ground in 2028, the year of her reelection campaign as mayor, for routes from Leeds station to the White Rose Centre and on to Bradford.

However, a confidential government review, which has now been revealed by The House magazine, claimed the mass transit scheme was being driven by a “political agenda rather than a recognised programmatic approach”.

The report, conducted by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (Nista) last September, caused the proposed completion date of the project to be pushed back to the late 2030s.

This was initially kept secret, however the content has now been revealed and it says there is a risk of “political embarrassment … if there was a large disconnect between a lauded 'spades in the ground’ date and the start of actual work”.

It added: “Options appraisal for investment, robust project planning and risk management are critical ingredients for successful delivery and should not be compromised for unrealistic milestones”.

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The report also urged Ms Brabin to consider building a bus rapid transit system - which would be made of electric trolleybuses or guided busways - instead of trams.

It said: “There is a need to build the case for trams which has not been completed.

“This is particularly important because the likely cost of a BRT mode is significantly less than for trams and the BRT benefits:cost ratio is significantly better.”

The Yorkshire Post previously reported how the Department for Transport is requiring West Yorkshire Combined Authority to put together a business case for a new bus network as well as a tram system, raising the prospect that Ms Brabin could be overruled by Whitehall.

On a recent visit to Sheffield, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander recently refused to guarantee the mass transit network would be made up of trams.

“What I want is a mass transit system for Leeds and West Yorkshire, and Tracy is making the case very powerfully as to why that should be a tram,” she said.

“We do want to look at the business case, because we have to make sure that every pound of taxpayers money that we spend has to be spent wisely, and we need to make sure that we're getting good value for money, but we're working really closely with Tracy's team.”

However, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has firmly backed Ms Brabin’s tram plans. She told this paper: “Mass transit does not mean a few better buses, mass transit means a tram network.”

A WYCA spokesperson said: “Beginning preparatory construction works by 2028 has been an ambition for the combined authority for some time because the people of West Yorkshire have waited long enough for this investment.

“Nista's predecessor body, the National Infrastructure Commission, set out clearly in 2023 that Leeds needs a tram. A review at this stage of a project of this scale is completely normal, and the majority of its recommendations have already been addressed by the combined authority.”

Previously had been attempting to work on the business case and the planning process at the same time, to speed up the timeframe. However, now it is focusing on the former first.

The DfT said the Government “fully supports Mayor Brabin’s ambitions for a world-class mass transit system for West Yorkshire”.

A spokesperson added: “We look forward to receiving WYCA's initial business case for the project later this year.”