Leeds tram tracks unearthed during city centre roadworks

The discovery was made 15cm (6in) down during work on a major road scheme in Leeds city centre

Tram tracks hidden for more than 60 years have been uncovered on a street during Leeds city centre roadworks.

The tracks were found 15cm (6in) down on Sovereign Street during work on the £270m Connecting Leeds project.

Leeds Corporation Tramways opened in 1891 and was a "key transport system" for residents, Leeds Civic Trust said.

Sovereign Street, which was once home to the main tram depot, was where Leeds United football fans would hop on to take them to Elland Road.

Discussing the discovery, Clifford Stead, from the civic trust, said: "This is tremendously exciting, this is the nerve centre of the old Leeds city tramway system."

The last tram service to run in Leeds was on 7 November 1959.

There was a 10-tram procession from the depot to mark the occasion, carrying dignitaries and Leeds residents who had won a seat in a lottery.

The unearthed lines, pictured with a toy tram, were discovered on Sovereign Street

The street is where Leeds United fans used to catch the tram to home games at Elland Road

Mr Stead continued: "Older people will remember trams - they became like folklore once they were withdrawn, people never quite took to buses in the same way.

"Trams have a tremendous rickety character about them, they were very dependable too and part of the city scape of Leeds."

He said that even though he was supportive of the Connecting Leeds scheme, it would be "nice" to keep a section of the street showing the tram tracks.

In 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged £2.5bn to fund a mass transit system for West Yorkshire linking Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield.

One Leeds resident said the tracks discovery "cements the fact that trams need to come back" to the city.

Another commented that a tram system similar to those in Manchester and Sheffield would "help Leeds".

Leeds trams were a part of the city landscape until the tramway shut in 1959

A previous supertram project for Leeds was cancelled by Labour in 2005 and a trolleybus was scrapped in 2016 after being denied planning permission.

But Mr Stead said he was "optimistic" that trams would eventually return to the city.

"Leeds was an innovator and had the best system in the country," he said.