Trolleybuses are set to return to the streets of Leeds 90 years after the last ones were scrapped.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening has approved a new £250m investment in a trolley bus system for the city. Work installing catenary is expected to start in 2016, with the trolleybus fully operational in 2018.

The last Leeds trolleybus ran from 1911 to 1928 (pictured below).

The Department for Transport has agreed to provide up to £173.5m for the New Generation Transport scheme. The remaining £76.5m will come from local authorities.

The project has today been granted ‘programme entry status’ by the Department for Transport allowing Metro, the West Yorkshire passenger transport executive, to apply for the statutory consents necessary for the scheme.

Plans for the scheme envisage trolleybuses running from Holt Park in the north to Stourton in the south, linking with two park-and-ride sites. The trolleybus will operate in exclusive designated road lanes along more than 40% of its 8.7 mile length.

This would be the UK's first modern trolleybus scheme.

• Click here to return to the previous page
• Subscribe to our free construction newsletters

Further Images