YP Letters: Going underground is the way ahead for cities like Leeds

Should Leeds have its own Underground system?

UNDERGROUND railway systems are the most efficient means of urban mass transit.

They also cause the least amount of damage to the environment.

So why was there no mention of them at the recent transport summit? (The Yorkshire Post, June 11).

Few major European cities are without an underground system. Leeds claims to be a major European city and yet has no underground system.

Instead of providing us with one, local politicians wasted their time and our money pursuing an outdated trolleybus system, euphemistically called New Generation Transport.

Leeds is being left behind whilst European cities forge ahead building new underground systems and adding lines to existing ones.

Cities such as Prague, Budapest and Warsaw are building underground systems with assistance from the European Union, while cities which don’t qualify for European grants use cheap loans.

Sofia’s second underground line opened in 2012, with 50 per cent of the cost being met by the European Union. Meanwhile, Leeds Council can’t even keep up with transport developments in Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle.