The UK and Welsh governments have agreed a long-term plan to upgrade rail services across Wales, backing a Transport for Wales (TfW) vision that officials say could support thousands of jobs and unlock new housing and business developments.
The intergovernmental Wales Rail Board will use TfW’s Today, Tomorrow, Together document as the blueprint for a pipeline of projects that ministers say could total as much as £14bn as schemes are developed. The UK Government has formally endorsed the plan and pledged to work with the Welsh Government to deliver projects “as quickly as possible”, following commitments made in the 2025 Spending Review.
Scale and jobs
Ministers say the programme will directly create more than 1,000 permanent positions and around 6,000 construction jobs, while supporting additional employment across the economy. Government figures cited in the vision estimate wider economic benefits of about £6.3bn, up to 13.3M extra rail journeys a year, 3.8M fewer car journeys and annual CO₂ savings of about 55,000t the 43 schemes in the TfW plan are delivered.
Planned investment from the Spending Review earmarked at least £445M for Welsh rail enhancements in this spending period: roughly £302M for infrastructure work, £95M for further development, and £48M to enhance the Core Valley Lines.
New stations and services
A central plank of the work is the construction of seven new stations, funded from almost half a billion pounds identified in the Spending Review. The stations are Magor and Undy, Llanwern, Cardiff East, Newport West, Somerton, Cardiff Parkway and a station to serve Deeside Industrial Park.
Work on five stations between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel Junction – Magor and Undy, Llanwern, Cardiff East, Newport West and Somerton – is due to start this year, with the expectation that construction of two will begin by 2029. Magor and Undy is expected to be the first completed. The Burns Commission, set up to identify ways of easing M4 congestion, first proposed these south-east Wales stops in 2020.
The Spending Review 2025 assigned £90M for these five stations over the next five years.
Cardiff Parkway, a private-led development adjoining a proposed new station at Hendre Lakes, is envisaged as a catalyst for employment and regeneration in east Cardiff. Ministers say it could serve about 800,000 passengers a year and support roughly 6,000 jobs across the associated business park. The UK Government has agreed to work with Welsh ministers and private investors to take the project forward, although precise funding shares and delivery timetables will depend on further development work.
In north-east Wales, a new stop serving Deeside Industrial Park is linked to plans to increase capacity on the Wrexham–Liverpool line. Ministers say upgrades there will allow two trains per hour, improve freight handling at Padeswood cement works and include safety, capacity and line-speed work at Buckley.
Stations and junction upgrades
Other named projects include a major transformation of Cardiff Central station. The UK Government has allocated a further £59.8M for the project, bringing its contribution to £77.8M; the scheme also has funding from the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and the Welsh Government to meet the £140M cost. Work is due to begin in spring 2026, with most construction complete by 2029. Bam is taking the project forward, with AtkinsRéalis as multi-disciplinary design partner.
To boost service frequencies in and around Cardiff, the UK Government plans to invest up to £30M on capacity improvements at a junction west of Cardiff station over the next three years, aligning with a 2028 renewal of that junction.
Separately, at least £40M has been allocated to increase speeds on relief lines between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel Junction, creating two additional high-speed lines designed to give more flexibility for freight and passenger services. A full business case for this work is due in spring 2026.
The government also confirmed around £30M for safety and service upgrades on the North Wales Coast Main Line. The programme includes replacing four high-risk level crossings at Prestatyn and Abergele with two accessible footbridges, with work expected to complete in spring 2027 and an associated TfW service increase of roughly 50% from May 2026.
Long-term plans in TfW’s document include the £2.1bn Network North Wales plan, the Swansea Bay and West Wales Metro, future phases of the South Wales Metro, upgrades to the North Wales and South Wales Main Lines and enhancements to Marches services and Mid Wales services.
TfW stated: “As part of our long-term pipeline, £4.4bn of projects are already developed and ready for delivery, with the potential to scale to £10bn as funding allows.”
Context and caveats
The joint endorsement represents a more sustained approach to rail investment than critics say characterised previous UK administrations, which ministers describe as “chop‑and‑change”. Officials acknowledge, however, that the total cost of the pipeline will evolve as schemes advance and that further UK funding allocations will be confirmed in future spending rounds.
Welsh MPs will be scrutinising the agreement and promises closely, having spent much of the last six months kicking up a fuss about Wales’ perceived short changing on rail funding. Local authorities and developers will also be watching to see how station plans tie into housing and employment schemes, particularly for Cardiff Parkway and the Deeside industrial site.
TfW’s vision and the Wales Rail Board aim to coordinate UK and Welsh Government, TfW and Network Rail involvement in delivery. If the headline projects proceed quickly, ministers say they will expand capacity, reduce road congestion and support regional economic growth – objectives that will now be tested by detailed business cases, procurement and the practicalities of construction.
Wales’ rails have been ‘left behind for too long’ – Government
Prime minister Keir Starmer said: “For too long, Wales has been let down by a UK government unwilling to do the hard yards and build the future they deserve.
“This government is turning the page on historic dither and delay with seven new stations, thousands of jobs, and a generational commitment to build a rail network fit for Wales’ future.
“This isn’t tinkering nor sticking plasters. This is investment for the long term – and change communities will feel. This is putting Wales on the front foot and getting Britain building again.”
Wales first minister Eluned Morgan said: “We are now in an unprecedented position to deliver the next chapter of transformation for rail services in Wales. We have secured long-term commitments to key projects and a renewed ambition for our rail network.
“Changes of this scale don’t happen overnight but they do happen when there is vision, determination, and cooperation. We’ve already proved that with the Core Valley Lines, and we are beginning to see the same momentum with Network North Wales. When you have the ambition, the commitment and the will, real progress follows – and we have all three.
“Today marks another important milestone for rail as Transport for Wales publishes an exciting and essential pipeline for future investment. This includes projects the length and breadth of our nation. We warmly welcome the UK Government’s support for these plans and for their commitment to putting right the injustice of Welsh rail underfunding left by the previous government.
“In the near term, I’m pleased to see backing for the essential work at Padeswood and Buckley. This will transform journeys between Wrexham and Liverpool, unlock economic opportunities across north Wales, and allow plans for the new Deeside station to accelerate. I also welcome the UK Government’s support for Cardiff Parkway, and we remain committed to working closely with all partners to complete the full business case and development plans.”
Secretary of state for Wales Jo Stevens said: “After years of underinvestment in Welsh infrastructure, this UK Government is modernising and upgrading Welsh rail.
“This investment in seven new stations and other upgrades will boost capacity across our network and transform the experience of thousands of passengers.
“It is part of the generational investment we are making to improve Welsh rail which will better connect people with the well-paid jobs we are creating across the country and drive economic growth.”
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Railways in Wales have been left behind for too long, and passengers deserve better. They are long overdue faster, more reliable, better rail connections to jobs and opportunities, and infrastructure that supports communities and growth.
“Today’s announcements will help deliver exactly that, with new stations up and down Wales, from Cardiff to Deeside.”
Vernon Everitt, chair of TfW, said: “Transport is an enabler of sustainable economic growth, higher productivity, access to homes, jobs and education as well as greater opportunity for all. Supporting the Welsh Government’s vision for transport and working with the UK Government, Today, Tomorrow, Together sets out an ambitious agenda to make further progress in these areas through investment in rail services as part of an integrated transport plan.
“In recent years we have delivered major improvements in transport for the people, businesses and communities we serve. This includes new trains and services, the wholesale transformation of the Core Valley lines and now significant enhancements to rail services as part of Network North Wales. We are also working hard to invest the funding allocated to Wales under the last spending review to bring further improvements to communities as quickly as possible.
“We now need to go further. Today we set out a potential pipeline of future projects which will bring further benefits across the whole of Wales, and I am thrilled that today the UK and Welsh Governments have backed this vision wholeheartedly.”
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