I never seem to understand why people believe that the only opportunity for connecting Bradford existed when there was a hole in the ground. Yes it would have been a lot easier that having to demolish/rebuild partially what is now occupying the big hole but just because something is now in the way doesn't mean its anymore or less likely!
If you look at HS2 the amount of destruction that was to entail just to reach the South bank of Leeds was/is astronomical! A lot of infrastructure projects do require a lot of destruction in particular HS2.
(Just before I respond to this post, a quick note for those members who get angry at such speculative talk. In no way I am, or indeed the vast majority of people in Bradford suggesting the follow could or should happen, because they won't. Just thought I'd get that in to save some people's blood pressure....)
Well yes you do have a point up to a degree, it would be possible to plough through existing structures to get a connection between the two alignments. However unlike HS2 into Leeds, you would be ploughing through was has become the retail centre of the city, so could cause a few more problems. Now I did mention upthread that when in planning for the shopping centre, there was some discussion on whether it might be possible to incorporate such a link into the design, but obviously this didn't happen. However as I understand it, the design of the existing structure is such that expansion of the site would be possible, though I think this was more for retail opportunities than any rail link.
Another alternative would be to dive under the city, the "simplest" alignment being a north- south one, diving down south of the city around the Bowling area, and emerging someone north along the Canal Road corridor. However this comes with its own problems, the is the Bradford Beck which runs under the centre to consider, as well as a considerable water table. So this would quickly get eye-wateringly expensive. Though not as expensive as Bradford Council's idea of a west-east alignment passing under the site of the Interchange. I have no idea how they proposed getting the line coming in from the west without very long tunnels leading more or less the length of NPR.
Finally, and to put this final option to bed, the old diversionary route from the Calder line towards the Pudsey one is some considerable distance from the centre, and is almost on a similar gradient to the existing Pudsey-bound line. Good luck finding an engineering solution to putting in a station on this slope, in a mainly industrial area higher up than the city it serves, with a road network that gets highly congested.
Such as a new line between Bradford and Huddersfield ?
If any new line ever emerges in the Spen area, its going to be a light tail towards Dewsbury. Quite honestly the best option for the Calder Valley, as suggested above, is to get those juicy wires up. That way times can be brought down a bit, and you get a handy diversionary route for the North TP. Wiring the Aire & Wharfe lines certainly helped the fortunes of these, so let's push for the same down the Calder.
