Transport secretary accused of securing ‘literally nothing’ in railway investment west of Cardiff from UK Government
Emily Price
The Welsh Government has been accused of securing “literally nothing at all” in railway investment west of Cardiff from the UK Government’s recent spending review.
The critiscm from Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell came during a scrutiny session on the work of Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Ken Skates.
Last month, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she had delivered what the Welsh Government had asked for in her spending review.
The package of funding included £445m for Welsh railways over the next 10 years.
Opposition parties in the Senedd have argued that this is less than what Wales is owed.
Chronic delays
In the Senedd on on Wednesday (July 2), Campbell referred to a number of examples where investment was needed in mid and west Wales – including alleviating “chronic delays” on the Heart of Wales line, ensuring more regular services on the Cambrian Line and building a new railway station in St Clears.
Quizzing the Transport Secretary, the Mid and West Wales MS said: “Rachel Reeves said that the Welsh Government had got everything it asked for, including when it comes to rail investment.
“My question to you today is simple: is this true? And if it is true, why did you ask for nothing, literally nothing at all, to invest in the railways west of Cardiff?
“Because the truth is that not only did the spending review deliver painfully little for Welsh rail, it delivered literally nothing for the railways in the region that I represent.”
‘Unfair’
Skates described the comments as “wholly unfair” adding that he would not “play regions off against each other”.
He said: “It’s absolutely right that we take forward the projects that are most advanced, that we can draw down the funding for, otherwise we could be promised the money, it would never be spent. We will spend that money.
“We will deliver the relief lines in south Wales. We will be building five stations along those relief lines in the years to come. We will be resolving capacity constraints on the Wrexham to Liverpool line.
“And I know you don’t like that line, but we’re going to be doing the job in the next three years. We’re going to be resolving difficulties on the north Wales main line, which is holding back frequencies.
Funding
He added: “As a result of all of this investment, we’re going to be seeing a 50 per cent increase in rail services across north Wales from next May.
“We will double rail services between Wrexham and Chester. We will see improved services.
“We will have two trains an hour on the Wrexham-Liverpool line in the next three years as a result of this funding.
“We’ll see additional services in south Wales as well as a result of being able to deal with the Cardiff west junction.
“We want to make sure that investment takes place across Wales, but you have to make sure that you build up an investment pipeline.
“That’s what we’ve done, and in total it’s valued over £4 billion for the longer term, and that includes huge projects in your region.”
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They need 6 stations in south Wales. The sixth station is being built by a private firm that still wants government funding. If they could just build a small commuter station then we don’t need private funding or the massive empty business park.
The proposed new Park and Ride station at J34 of the M4 near Miskin would come first.
Two trains an hour from Wrexham to Liverpool will do NOTHING for North Wales; indeed its likely to make shopping in Liverpool and Chester easier, as well as ensure more English commuters live in Wales
Completely disagree. This links the two biggest industrial estates in Wales. Gives people in Wrexham opportunities to travel to a wider range of employers in DIP and Liverpool/lancs and Cheshire. If you ever go on the trains, you’ll see a great deal of students also travel from Wirral and Liverpool to Wrexham for studying as well. Also connects Flintshire, one of the few counties in the UK without a hospital, with the Maelor. Moving to half hourly trains will be a major boost for the area. One of the few freight train routes in Wales as well. What’s your grounds… Read more »
Or west of Wrecsam…really so much wastage, point to one who is pulling for Cymru as a whole…
Mid Wales has been erased from the Map it does not fit their North South attitude…
GPs against Bronglais
Air Ambulance why, ask the Squadron Leader. Power corrupts…
Keeping the focus on railways, it strikes me that the figures which show what having a Labour Government at both ends of the M4 means are simple: Old Oak Common, the current terminus of HS2 and described as a super-transport hub with high speed connections to London on GWR, the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express, to Euston is 4.5 miles. The cost is £20 Bn and rising, funding available now. Bangor to Carmarthen railway restoration, which will link North and South Cymru plus Central Cymru bringing development to the whole of Western Cymru requires 49 miles of new track laying.… Read more »
The focus travels up and down that line at its own risk .
The Titfield Thunderbolt…
Seriously, this railway connects all that has been neglected about about mid Wales
From Bronglais Hospital to the missing Air Ambulance at the Border, nothing wrong with my focus, your manners are another matter…
There should be a list of proposed but unfunded infrastructure projects in order of priority, even if it might take 30 years to deliver them. That list can be put forward every time there’s a funding round so there’s never again an opportunity for central government to say that they provided all the funding they were asked to provide.
Cefin Campbell is spot on. Rail services west of Carmarthen and into Pembrokeshire are far to infrequent. Not to mention a lack of a north-south link across the West coast. Yet we have to pay for rail projects in another country, and we are expected to be grateful.
Yep!
It’s worth remembering that upgrading the North Wales line was something the previous conservative government announced during one of the brief moments they remembered we exist. So in terms of new projects, all he has to show is, in fact, new stations to the east of Cardiff.