A Crossrail link across Bradford city centre appears doomed as there is insufficient funding and backing for it, according to the chairman of a working group set up to examine its protential.

The possibility of the rail connection between Bradford’s Forster Square and Interchange stations, which would see the stations replaced by a new Bradford Central Station, has also been thrown into doubt after planning permission was last week granted for the long-awaited Broadway shopping centre development.

The Crossrail scheme, estimated at costing at least £140 million, including proposals to link the new rail track into the planned Westfield shopping centre.

But a report by the Crossrail Working Group, set to go before the Council’s Regeneration and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee this Thursday, notes some members had felt the rail link would be “ideally placed to fill the gap” if the shopping development had been scrapped.

For the project now to remain viable, efforts need to be made to attempt to protect the land earmarked for the scheme from being built on, the report states.

Councillor David Heseltine (Con, Bingley), who chaired the group, said the proposals lacked the widespread support needed from authorities across West Yorkshire as well as business and community leaders.

He said: “This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. There isn’t a bid or money in the pipeline for it so financially it isn’t going to happen in the near future.

“Obviously Westfield has been on the drawing board for some time and I would hope it comes to fruition, however, this debate is also there if it doesn’t.

“People who want Crossrail and the business community have to come together and say ‘this is what we want’ and that hasn’t really happened.

But James Vasey, chairman of Bradford Rail Users Group, said there was a well-supported business case for the rail link, which would be presented at the meeting on Thursday.