The �500m engineering project is the biggest ever in Leeds

The city's eight MPs are scheduled to meet Transport Secretary Alistair Darling on Wednesday amid fears that the government may no longer be willing to go ahead as costs hit �500m.

The project was put on hold in October after serious potential budget problems were highlighted.

But Leeds North West MP Harold Best said Wednesday's meeting was to ensure the scheme ran to schedule.

Funding 'anxieties'

"There is no problem of delay and the necessary funding is there. This is just a meeting to ensure that those things are still on track," he said.

He said the MPs and Mr Darling would hold "intelligent, sensitive conversations about the needs for public transport in Leeds".

"I have a positive view about this having had correspondence with ministers," he added.

"I am optimistic everything will run to schedule.

"There were some anxieties about funding, mostly technical financial arguments about how, why and when.

Unprecedented scale

"There is a timetable and schedule which is being followed and the project managers are keeping to that - work is running fairly smoothly.

"I'm hoping today will be a day of confirmation that Leeds will get its tram and it will be a major contribution to easing transport problems in the city."

If the project goes to plan, the largest single engineering project ever undertaken in the city will see the first trams running by 2007.

When completed, Supertram will provide a 28-kilometre light rail network linking Leeds to outlying areas along three major routes.

Approximately 22 million people are expected to use the service each year.