An ambitious vision for new rail projects and faster train journey times across Wales and into England has been outlined by the Welsh Government.
While rail investment is a non-devolved spending matter so would need approval and financial backing from the 海角视频 Government, Economy and Transport Minister Ken Skates has set out a series of proposals and aspirations, including those that will require more detailed business case development.
It is also looking for the 海角视频 Government to support its plans for new Metro networks for Swansea Bay and North Wales and the emerging plans for the Crossrail project in Cardiff. In total it has identified projects running into several billion pounds, which it said could help plug the under funding on rail in Wales that goes back decades.
South Wales
It is calling for investment for the South Wales Mainline (SWML) in terms of capacity, line speed, rolling stock and widespread electrification.
This it said is needed to enable additional express services to Swansea and West Wales from London, Bristol Temple Meads and the English Midlands, as well as better access to Heathrow Airport.
It has also set journey time ambitions of:
- Cardiff to London in just 85 minutes.
- Cardiff to Swansea in 30 minutes.
- Cardiff to Bristol Temple Meads in 35 minutes.
- Cardiff to Carmarthen in 75 minutes.
- It is also is committed to, while at different stages of realisation, new stations including Cardiff Parkway, Llanwern, Newport Road/Rover Way in Cardiff, Magor, M4 junction 33, St Clears and Cockett.
- The need to address major network bottlenecks on the SWML at Ebbw Line Park junction and Cardiff West, as well as upgrading the Marches, Ebbw Valley and Maesteg lines.
- Interchange at key hubs between express SWML services and Metros, local commuter rail, new tram-train (including for the Cardiff Crossrail/north west corridor and Swansea Metro service) and bus services right across South Wales from Milford Haven to Severn Tunnel Junction.
North Wales
A major upgrade of the North Wales Mainline and Borderlands line in terms of capacity, line speed, rolling stock and widespread electrification.
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This it said is needed to enable frequent express services to Llandudno/Bangor/Holyhead from Cardiff, London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester/Leeds and Manchester Airport.
It has journey time ambitions of:
- Llandudno to Crewe in 60 minutes.
Holyhead to Chester in 60 minutes.
- New commuter services, including all stop services in North West Wales between Holyhead and Llandudno Junction/Colwyn Bay and in North East Wales from Crewe and Wrexham to Llandudno.
Electrified Wrexham-Liverpool services on the Borderlands line operating at four trains per hour.
Key infrastructure constraints addressed at Chester station and doubling the Chester-Wrexham line
The Welsh Government continues to make the case for the whole rail network in Wales to be devolved, tied with a fair funding settlement, that addresses years of underinvestment.
Recently Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that consideration of devolving rail was a matter for another day, due to the current challenges facing the rail industry due to the pandemic.
Economy and Transport Minister Ken Skates said: "We are still waiting for the 海角视频 Government to respond to our call for full devolution of the railway in Wales alongside a fair funding settlement. A call that was supported by a majority in the Senedd following our debate in February 2019.
"We also need the 海角视频 Government to agree to allow Transport for Wales to operate additional services beyond Severn Tunnel Junction, or additional services through their own rail contracts.
"An additional hourly service between South Wales and London is shown in the 2020 Network Rail Business Plan.
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"While the franchised operator has made it clear that it will not operate these services, we continue to support other operators’ plans to increase frequencies, including Grand Union Trains’ proposal to provide a significant increase in services between Carmarthen and London, which would also provide additional services at Llanelli, Swansea and Cardiff and look to the Office of Rail and Road to allow preparations to start services later in 2021 to begin."
On the strategic plans for both North and South Wales, Mr Skates said: "These will drive our policy decision-making, guide our funding allocations, and signal to other funders and delivery agents our expectations of them to commit and invest in the rail network in Wales.
"They include new services and increased frequencies in both North and South Wales, as well as longer term schemes such as new routes or line re-openings.
"We will deliver on our ambitions for Wales and our public transport network while continuing to call on the 海角视频 Government to complete its long delayed rail review, and to fully devolve rail matters to Wales.
"This must be accompanied by a fair funding settlement so that we can progress our ambitious development programme and start to rectify the years of historic underinvestment by the 海角视频 Government in the rail network in Wales."
The amount of funding that the Welsh Government is expected to receive under the Barnett Formula from total increased spending from the 海角视频 Government's Department for Transport, is expected to reduce in the years ahead.
This is because the high speed two rail project, which could see up to £100bn spent connecting London to Birmingham and then to cities in the North of England such as Leeds and Manchester, is deemed an England and Wales project, so funding allocated is effectively not captured by Barnett. The same applies for Network Rail enhancement projects.
The percentage of DfT spending currently has a Barnett attribution for Wales of around 80%. However, due to spending on high speed two in particular, that figure is expected to decline.
That would arguably be fine if Wales had an equitable share of what are deemed England and Wales rail enhancement projects.
However, over the last few decades, despite having around 11% of the 海角视频 rail network, it has received around 2% of all Network Rail enhancement projects.
Mr Shapps said high speed two, which Welsh taxpayers are contributing to, has been deemed a 海角视频 project so there wouldn’t be a Barnett consequential for Wales, but stressed there would benefits for North Wales put at £55m per annum with connections to the high speed network when it reaches Crewe. However, other government research show that the economy of South Wales will suffer a detrimental impact of around £200m a year.
Back in the 2005 the Welsh Government were offered by the then Labour Government in Westminster the devolving of the rail.
That was not taken up, although the devolved Scottish administration took it with both hands. That decision could be seen as one of the poorest made since the advent of devolution, especially with the focus on high speed two in the years ahead not being barnetised, which is the case for Northern Ireland and Scotland.
In March the Core Valley Lines into Cardiff were transferred from Network Rail to the Welsh Government for it, through Transport for Wales, to deliver their electrification under the £738m South Wales Metro project.
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The tracks, along with the Coryton Line and part of the City Line in Cardiff, have also be devolved.
As they represent around 15% of the rail work in Wales, the 海角视频 Government should reassess accordingly the current thinking of the England and Wales rail network and implications for overall DfT spending and the Barnett Formula.