Minister outlines reasons for improving transport connections between north Wales and Liverpool
David Humphreys, Local Democracy Reporter
The connection between Liverpool and north Wales is of “huge importance” and will be strengthened by continued investment in public transport, according to Wales’ cabinet secretary for transport and north Wales.
It was revealed last week how plans are being put in place over the next decade to improve rail connections between Liverpool and Wrexham, Wales’ newest city.
Among the schemes proposed include the renaming of the Borderlands line to the Wrexham to Liverpool line, which takes in a number of key locations in England, including Birkenhead and Bidston.
There are also hopes of connecting services to a proposed Liverpool to Manchester rail line as put forward by the Metro Mayors in both cities last week.
Links
Now Ken Skates has told the LDRS why the links 40 miles away and across the border are so important on both sides. He also explained how technology pioneered in Kirkby could be the answer to faster trains between Wrexham and Liverpool.
He said: “The connection with Liverpool is vital for north east Wales, for the whole of north Wales and in terms of employment, in terms of socialising, in terms of family connections, connection with Liverpool is something that I think all people in north east Wales recognise as being of huge importance.
“We need to improve that connectivity, so people don’t have to rely on a private car, and the best way to do that is to invest in public transport, rail between Wrexham and Liverpool, and also corresponding complimentary bus services.
“The objective in the next three years is to introduce two trains an hour on that line. We’re also looking at whether we could test demand for services at Deeside industrial estate, but these would be in all like to be heard on conventional trains longer term.”
Improvements
Immediate changes are being delivered, with a raft of improvements planned for the next twelve months, three years and through to 2035 with the Liverpool City Region seen as a key partner in the development.
Work is expected to begin to unlock key pinch points between the two cities to bring about a metro service between both sides.
In January 2023, Merseyrail unveiled its fleet of battery operated trains, beginning in Kirkby. Mr Skates revealed how Transport for Wales could be another adopter of the project to link up with Liverpool and directly into the city centre rather than having to stop at Bidston.
He said: “It’s entirely possible to utilise electrified trains that could operate between Liverpool directly with Wrexham and with electrification you get faster take off, so you can have reduced journey times and that would then in turn, enable four trains an hour to operate on the line. Technology is emerging to enable that to happen.
“Battery trains, for example, the technology that’s been developed for them could see them have far greater range in a relatively short space of time. So we could be using battery trains to deliver that direct metro type service between Liverpool and Wrexham, or a number of stages we need to get to.
The minister is also joining the Northern Arc board alongside Metro Mayors Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham to connect the proposed Liverpool to Manchester line with north Wales.
He explained how the three areas are working together to improve connectivity.
‘Northern Arc’
He said: “The conversations we’re having are brilliant. I was with them just last week, where they presented the vision for the Northern Arc in particular, the direct link between Liverpool and Manchester and how that could benefit north Wales as well, particularly in getting to the airport faster.
“We’ve been in discussions about how we all work together to deliver those direct regular services between Wrexham and Liverpool, because we all want to see it happen. Both at a political level, but also between officials within Transport for Wales and Merseytravel, we’re seeing a huge degree of collaboration, which will result in a sustainable solution to the question of how do we deliver four trains an hour on that route direct into Liverpool?”
A huge amount of people travel west to east between Merseyside and north Wales for work and studying opportunities.
Economic growth
The minister explained how furthering economic ties would justify the desire to improve the transport offer across the border.
He said: “The big driver is economic growth and dealing with economic inactivity, unemployment, lack of opportunities, poor productivity, and improving public transport is a huge enabler through all of those to be addressed. It’s all about making sure that we can maximise economic opportunities between Wrexham and Liverpool, and indeed beyond as well.
“It’s about the whole of the region and the northern arc can go all the way from Holyhead to Hull. In this specific area, a huge number of people currently drive to and from the Wirral, to and from Wrexham and Deeside, from either side of the border, and a huge proportion of people would use public transport if it was more frequent, more affordable or better integrated with better bus and train services.
“It’s all about driving that economic growth and when the reality is we’ve got a functional economic area that is east west, we need to make sure that we design the public network to serve it. As I said last week at the presentation, we’re all Northerners, so we’re all going to be working together to get the outcomes for the entire Northern Arc.”
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He forgot to say “to connect north Wales ever closer to England, developing it as an English region, whilst refusing to give any consideration to a north-south line that would unite Wales as a nation.”
Completely agree, historically it has been an ongoing program to separate regions of wales and to integrate them into neighbouring parts of England using economic means, this is just another case of “ device and conquer “
Out with Ken Skates. Arguably Wales’ worst cabinet member ever
The Beatles to AFC Wrecsam Line…
If this was the US, songs would be written about it…
Our Narrow Gauge should become standard,
Then all change at the borderline…
This train don’t pull no liars…
This Train Bound For Glory…
RIP Sister Rosetta
Mr Skates is continuing his “Ring of Iron” theme, The name Dic Sion Dafydd comes to mind.
I know some people are up in arms about this, but historically, North Wales’ main employer e.g. Airbus, Toyota, pilkington, shotton mills, and Tata all habe strong links with northern England. In fact, I can barely think of a significant commercial connection between North and South Wales – though I’m happy to be corrected? That said, many independent countries in Europe have regions more closely connected to neighbouring nations than to their own capital regopn. In my view, economic development should trump ideology. And we want these trains not to run at a loss to the tax payer (which the… Read more »
The Northern Arc should start at Dublin. As a foot passenger it takes far too long to reach Dublin city centre from Holyhead railway station.
If that is where people travel to and from, the fact that it goes over a border should not matter. People need to get over themselves. Lots of people are likely already making the journey by car and improving the public transport will give them a viable alternative to driving.
Firstly sort out connections between North and South and secondly sort out the Cambrian and thirdly the Heart of Wales Line.
Then consider Wrexham to Liverpool!
This just sounds like Cairns’ ‘Northern Powerhouse under a new name. I’m all in favour of trains over cars, but why this fixation with prioritising east-west links over links between the north and south of Wales?
Presumably it’s the only way to get funding from central government. Better internal connections such as Carmarthen to Aberystwyth might need to be funded in a different way. Ideally the Welsh Gov would be able to sell infrastructure bonds so that citizens and the diaspora can choose to invest in Wales.
Excellent idea. Pehaps it needs (say) a Lottery winner to set up a Community Interest company whose focus would be to re-build the bridge that divided the Gwili Railway from Carmarthen station. With that break repaired building north in sections becomes surprisingly easy. The Welsh Government might be able to find some funds for that given how they have found so much for the Cardiff Metro scheme.