TWO routes linking Bradford with other West Yorkshire centres will be included in the first wave of a new mass transit plan.

The West Yorkshire mass transit network has been in the planning stages for years, and will link the region’s towns, cities, and suburbs.

Although work is still years away, a new report has revealed that Bradford will be among the first areas to benefit from the expansive plans.

A new report by West Yorkshire Combined Authority reveals that the Bradford to Leeds route and the Bradford to Dewsbury route will be among the first routes to be drawn up by the consortium tasked with designing the plan.

Lines linking Bradford to Halifax and Bradford to Leeds Bradford Airport via Shipley will come at a later stage.

Despite being in the planning stages for years, it has yet to be decided what form the mass transit system will take, or the exact routes.

Early plans have suggested the Bradford to Leeds line would include stops at Laisterdyke, Bramley and Armley.

The Bradford to Dewsbury line would have stops at Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton, the M62, Low Moor and “South Bradford” – with hints that this stop could be based in Holme Wood.

Another report into the plans, this one produced by Bradford Council, says the network would include a link between Bradford Interchange and Bradford Forster Square stations.

The network could eventually cost around £2 billion, and West Yorkshire Combined Authority was awarded £200m in funding from Government to kick start the work earlier this Summer.

The report to the Authority’s Transport Committee says: “The consortium have been commissioned to lead on the business case development workstream and will initially focus on the Orange (East Leeds, Bradford to Leeds and South Leeds to Dewsbury) and Green (Bradford to Dewsbury) corridors, with other areas of the network following in due course.”

It says work is now being done to develop routes and stops, adding: “The team are now beginning to discuss route options in more detail in a further series of workshops with stakeholders.

“As with the Business Case, this stage of work focuses on the Orange and Green priority areas of the network. It is expected that this phase work will be completed by July/August 2023.”

The Council report into the plans says: “Mass Transit routes are anticipated to bring high quality, fast, frequent and reliable public transport to major corridors. Infrastructure works are anticipated to be complemented with place-making programmes and parallel segregated cycle facilities.

“Whilst this programme is still several years away from the start of construction, which could start from the late 2020s, the first stage(s) could potentially be opened in the latter half of the decade.”