Rail campaigners are proposing the old Spen Valley line is re-opened and continued as a tram-style link to the streets of Bradford city centre to give passengers easy access to its tourist attractions and shops.

The line, which runs from Low Moor through Cleckheaton, Liversedge and Heckmondwike before joining the Huddersfield/Wakefield line at Thornhill Junction near Dewsbury, was closed in 1965 to passengers and to freight in 1981.

Since then rail enthusiasts have been fighting to get it re-opened to help reduce congestion on the roads, attract businesses and create jobs as well as provide greater access to the local and national rail network.

Now the Missing Link Spen Rail Group has published a report saying the line should be re-opened as a Light Rail Transit link - similar to Supertram in Sheffield and Metrolink in Manchester - with connections to Bradford and Dewsbury.

The report, available in public from libraries from tomorrow, has been sent to Deputy Prime Minister and Environment Secretary John Prescott, local MPs, councillors, Metro and Railtrack.

The group admits it would cost more to build an LRT link - up to £140 million - than a conventional system because it would mean electrifying the line, re-laying track and providing signalling, but the benefits would outweigh the investment.

Spokesman Michael Ramsden said: "This is an ambitious scheme but there needs to be major investment to encourage people to use public transport. People will only use it if there is a reliable, good quality service."

The group is proposing the route goes into Bradford Interchange and then onto the streets and on to Forster Square.

It is also proposing the LRT link joins the existing railway line and shares tracks with train services from Low Moor through Bowling tunnel.

An alternative would be a new route for LRT, separate from heavy rail, serving sites such as the Euroway trading estate, Eurocam computer village and the proposed Superdome at Odsal.

A Railtrack spokesman said: "We are happy to look at the feasibility of the schemes but cost and customer demand are factors we would have to consider."

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