Bristol underground rail 'almost terminal' warns transport boss

The underground railway network was first proposed in 2017

The head of transport in Bristol has warned that a mass transit plan for underground rail is "almost terminal".

Adam Crowther, head of city transport, made the comments at a scrutiny commission meeting at Bristol City Council.

Plans for underground rail were first proposed by the mayor Marvin Rees back in 2017, a year after he was elected.

With less than two months to go before his term ends, millions has been spent for plans which may never be built.

Last October, West of England mayor Dan Norris vetoed Mr Rees's mass transit plan, due to the staggering cost of digging tunnels, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Crowther said: "I would say the risk is almost as high as it can get without being terminal.

"Any project of that size and type is going to be high risk either way.

"It's been quite high risk for a long time."

The proposed transit system would see four key lines running out of Bristol

The council is waiting to hear back from the West of England Combined Authority on potential next steps for mass transit.

Councillor Don Alexander, cabinet member for transport, has warned the region's economy may stop growing due to "impossible traffic".

"What's happening now is we're maxing out the economy in Bristol, because transport is actually reaching a peak.

"The economy will not grow any longer, not just in Bristol but across the region.

"We're levelling out, and one of the reasons is it's very, very hard to work here because the traffic is impossible.

"It's really for WECA (the West of England Combined Authority) to come up with a solution."