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Welsh Government calls for £1bn rail boost in UK Budget

27 Sep 2026 3 minute read

Nation.Cymru staff

The Welsh Government is calling on the Chancellor to bring forward £1bn of promised rail investment for Wales in next month’s Budget.

Finance Minister Elin Jones has written to Chancellor John Healey ahead of his first Budget on October 28, calling for faster rail investment as well as measures on the cost of living and public spending.

The UK Government has committed to a £14bn long-term programme of rail improvements in Wales, but only £302m is currently allocated during the present Spending Review period, which runs to 2029-30.

The Welsh Government says that amounts to around 1% of Network Rail’s spending across England and Wales and wants £1bn of the existing commitment brought forward to speed up improvements.

She said: “Right now, just 1% of Network Rail’s spending across England and Wales is going towards our railways. That’s not good enough.

“The UK Government has committed to invest £14 billion to address the historical underfunding of Wales’ railways and I want to see that promise turned into action, starting with this budget.”

Ms Jones is also calling for Local Housing Allowance rates to be unfrozen and for Cynnal, the Welsh Government’s child payment, to be protected from tax and benefit deductions.

She wants what the Welsh Government describes as real-terms cuts to Wales’ day-to-day and capital budgets reversed, along with UK Government investment in major projects including the decarbonisation of Pembrokeshire Power Station.

Ms Jones said: “Families across Wales are still feeling the squeeze, and I want the Chancellor to go further to help them, whether that’s through housing and energy support or protecting the payments that matter most to families on the lowest incomes.

“Wales already makes a strong contribution to the UK economy, and investing in our future will help deliver the Prime Minister’s own ambition to spread prosperity and opportunity to every part of the UK. This budget is the moment to match that ambition with action.”

Iran war

Mr Healey’s first Budget comes as the economic consequences of the Iran war have contributed to higher inflation and increased government borrowing costs.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has indicated there may be limited scope for significant further tax rises after increases introduced in the 2024 and 2025 budgets.

Asked about the balance between taxing wealth and income, Mr Burnham said: “We had two budgets in 2024 and 2025 and we have to be conscious of the extent to which we have raised revenue.

“And we have to make sure we get the balance right.”

The tax take is currently forecast to rise from 36.3% of GDP in 2025-26 to 38.5% by 2030-31, which would be its highest level since comparable records began in 1948.

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