On from the “what could have been?” files – a proposed double-decker trolleybus service covering 76 kilometres (just under 50 miles) of routes in West Yorkshire.
Between 1980 and 1990, the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive repeatedly attempted to gain government funding for this project: this leaflet looks like one of those efforts, extolling the benefits of such a network. Eventually, a private bus operator announced a plan to operate a diesel bus service along the proposed route and the initiative was shelved. Of interest is the concept that the trolleybus could eventually be replaced by a “new Rapid Transit System” called ElectroLine – very similar to the idea often presented today that BRT can be replaced with light rail when ridership reaches a certain level.
The map itself is simple and high-level, with the three phases of the project simply denoted by colour. There’s no detailed route or stop information, but it serves the purpose of supporting the text on the page. The real winner here is the little illustration of a proposed double-decker trolleybus vehicle… lovely!
Source: PaulWestYorks/Flickr
This would have been approved 50 years ago, had Leeds/ Bradford conurbation, been in the south east. It would also have been extensively enlarged and upgraded in the years to follow. It is ridiculous that Leeds with 780000 people, and Bradford with 540000 people, don’t have a rapid transit system, despite being practically joined.
A prototype Trolleybus was built for this scheme, and tested on a small test track near Doncaster Racecourse. It survives, albeit in need of restoration, at the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft, near Doncaster, UK. More information can be found here: https://bit.ly/3RVnyVs