THE West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) has appointed a consortium of Jacobs and Mott MacDonald as the design development partner for the proposed West Yorkshire Mass Transit Programme. The consortium will support WYCA to develop the first phase of the project, which will include new light rail infrastructure.
West Yorkshire has a population of 2.3 million, encompassing major cities and towns such as Leeds, Bradford, and Huddersfield, and is currently one of the largest urban areas in Europe without an urban transit system.
WYCA is targeting the start of construction on Phase 1 in 2028, which will include two new light rail lines: one running between Leeds and Bradford city centres; and a second that will connect St James’s University Hospital in the east of Leeds with the south of the city. Both lines will integrate with rail, bus, cycling and walking options.
The consortium will support WYCA by taking the existing concept design through to completion, providing professional services and technical support necessary to deliver the first phase of the network by the end of this decade.
The British government, which reaffirmed its commitment to the project in its budget announcement on October 30, has already allocated £200m to develop the new transit network. This funding covers design, consultation, environmental appraisal, obtaining planning consent and some initial enabling works up to 2027. Consultation on the initial preferred routes for the two lines is expected to take place in late 2025.
“The Jacobs-Mott MacDonald consortium will support WYCA in turning its mass transit vision into future-made designs that connect West Yorkshire’s communities, combat climate change, support a sustainable and inclusive economy, and improve people’s health and wellbeing,” says Jacobs senior vice-president, Ms Kate Kenny.
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