Tram-Train's in Leeds Concept, why? | Conceptual #1 

Thanks, mate as you've outlined this video is wishful thinking in regard to transit and the continued failures of actually get something done about it. Furthermore, personally I'm still really concerned about the state of the mass transit funding for WY as personally for the geographic area of West Yorkshire I really don't think that its enough to provide what its aiming to. Thanks for the kind words!

Yes, you are right as much as I may seem to know my stuff, I'm human, and reading comments like this honestly makes my day as they give me a better understanding to carry forward, so thanks! Anyways, as you say the tram-train lines are simply impossible in retrospect from both a timetable and safety perspective. Plus, you are completely right about the bus or tram conversation, generally speaking, both have pros and cons and when talking about Leeds it's a really hard pick because generally speaking the barrier to entry for trams is huge but the operating costs are lower. Whereas buses are more flexible yet often have higher running costs and less capacity. So, generally speaking, even in a theoretical system it's really hard to pick the bus or the tram, and whilst when I wrote the script I was confident in trams. The more I look into the feasibility, cost and practicality the more on the fence I am about trams. Either way, I hope you've had a good day and again thanks for your input it really does help me out in the long run!

@@Thoroughfare One thing I would like to see is for them to reopen the Marsh Lane station but on what used to be the old warehouses build a full terminus station. This would mean that trains could run from the East of Leeds and terminate at Marsh Lane and then be held there until needed for return journeys. This could help during rush hours and might increase the numbers of passengers using trains from the East during off peak times. One of the other problems Leeds does have is that the main train and bus station are not combined. So people arriving by train don't have easy access to other parts of Leeds not covered by stations. Now this might sound a little bit radical but what I would like to see are gondolas running from Leeds City Station down Boar Lane then down Call Lane and Kirkgate to the bus station. With another route up the Headrow and down Park Row back to the Station. This would link the two major forms of transport in the City centre, give people an opportunity to see the fine architecture that is higher up out of eyesight and would not disrupt existing traffic. You could even have mini- stations along the route for example next to Holy Trinity Church. If Marsh Lane were to be reopened you could extend to gondolas from the Bus Station onto Marsh Lane. It would be something no other City in the UK had.

​@@stephenhodgson3506 That would definitely be unique! Personally, I would probably suggest something more mundane like a circular bus or a bike and ride scheme similar to the ones that can find in London. So passengers can choose how they want to transfer, but gondolas would definitely bring a bit of intrigue to visitors and commuters alike!

@@Thoroughfare travelling on a bus the other day a lady enquired of the driver if he knew when her bus would be arriving. He answered that there was a major shortage of drivers, not just in Leeds but nation wide, he went on that even they didn't know if the service they were to drive was cancelled and they were to drive a different route. He added that not only was there a shortage of drivers but also mechanics to keep the buses running. I heard that a number of drivers had switched to driving HGV's as the pay was better and they didn't get abuse from passengers. I also seem to remember that a few years ago that the YEP reported that First were having problems recruiting drivers and had gone to Poland to get staff. I do wonder how many of those Polish drivers have now returned to Poland like HGV drivers did after Brexit. It does seem that regardless of what solution they come up with if they can't recruit staff to operate the services then it would all be a waste of time. I recently read an article by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that predicted that by 2040 because of the advancement in self drive cars that public transport would become redundant. They argued that the most expensive part of running a taxi was the driver. If the driver were to be eliminated then people could phone for a taxi which would turn up take them to their destination in the fastest time possible and then return to collect them when they needed it. The cost of the journey without having to pay a driver would mean it would be even cheaper than public transport and it would offer a twenty four hour public service. It may seem far fetched but who would have thought a mobile phone could do what it does now when they first came out.

Have the engineers yet been appointed to implement the tram train system? There is no published evidence that the engineers have been appointed, e.g., Atkins, Arup, Mott MacDonald?

Have the land agents secured the land to build the new tram train lines? There is no evidence that anything is actually happening?

Yes, I would agree that it would be better if more of the services stopped at the stations on the fringes of Leeds more often. It's the main reason behind my suggestion to use tram-trains, but if conventional services could fill the gap then they might not need to be tram-trains in the system.

@@Thoroughfare Higher frequency to existing station would be great but adding new station where they use to have them before the Beaching axe would be very useful too. The town I'm from, East Ardsley, use to have a station and service before the axe now it doesn't. How long it take to get to Leeds now? 45 mins by public transport, 15 mins by car, it's a joke, but if you look at Outwood that kept it station it can get to Leeds in about 15 mins by train. Why couldn't they rebuild station like East Ardsley's to get cars off the road and people back on the tracks.

Good point I would agree that frequency isn't everything and the re-opening of the several stations cut by Beeching would be great too, as it would make the local commuter trains much more attractive than taking the car. But, in reference to East Ardsley, I have the feeling that NR would argue that it would impede on the express services that run on the line, which would have been dealt with by HS2 Phase 2b. But we all know where that went. At the end of the day it comes down to funding and not to get too political but seemingly getting any public funds for efforts in the North dies before it even gets here and when it does it seemingly makes a small dent in the wider issues of public transit, unfortunately. Anyways, thanks for your insight on this it helps me get a better understanding!

Personally, in regard to Adel I would try to have a local bus service route commuters via Horsforth station or possibly a new station with much higher frequency service into Leeds Station, for Alwoodly given that most of it would fall under 2.5km of the final stop on the green line I would try to encourage transfers via walking or cycling though I could see the line being sent up to the park and ride their to replace that bus service. As for the east, and the new schemes it a ideal world the trams would be able to sufficiently provide the same service as the buses but achieve this would still be difficult as the dedicated bus lanes may have to be taken out of service whilst tracks are installed. Anyways, thanks!

Well, I don't know if you've seen the video from @AdventureMe but Leeds Corporation seemed to think the idea was solid. If not you might want to check out his video on it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8UlSDa2Fft0.html