Disappointment at the \u201cinsulting\u201d funding settlement for Wales\u2019 railways in the Spending Review has been voiced by numerous Welsh ministers.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the government announced the conclusion of its Spending Review where it pledged \u00a310.2bn for major rail projects across the country and \u00a323bn for High Speed 2 (HS2)<\/a>. A total of \u00a315.6bn was also apportioned to England\u2019s city regions for transport projects<\/a>.<\/p>\n From the \u00a310.2bn for rail enhancements, Wales will receive \u00a3300M. The Spending Review also recognised \u201cWales\u2019 long-term infrastructure needs and deliver \u00a3445M of rail enhancements to realise them\u201d.<\/p>\n A further \u00a348M has been apportioned to the Welsh government for enhancements of the Core Valley Lines rail network via the Spending Review.<\/p>\n These sums have left some Welsh minister and members of the Senedd disgruntled at the situation. Rail is an increasing priority of the Welsh government as it looks to move the public away from car use and into public transport.<\/p>\n Tensions boiled in Parliament on 19 June when Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick expressed his concern.<\/p>\n Responding to chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones\u2019 announcement of the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, he said: \u201cI hope the Minister appreciates just how insulting it is to Welsh ears for us to be told that we are getting a fair deal on railway funding, when we know that we have been cheated out of billions of pounds due to the classification of several projects as England and Wales projects.\u201d<\/p>\n This is in reference to HS2 being classified as an England and Wales project, enabling the government to say it has apportioned money for Wales\u2019 rails even when the line does not cross the border.<\/p>\n Chadwick continued: \u201cWales is getting only five railway stations between Newport and Cardiff. That is hardly national renewal, is it? Will he bet on Wales and commit to projects outside that belt, such as projects across mid-Wales and west Wales or the electrification of the north and south lines?\u201d<\/p>\n Chief secretary to the treasury Darren Jones kicked back saying that Chadwick \u201cmight want to be a little more grateful\u201d for the money that is being promised.<\/p>\n Senedd debate on rail funding<\/strong><\/p>\n Chadwick\u2019s outburst came off the back of the long-running outrage over the HS2 classification, which Welsh ministers say has robbed their railways of \u00a34bn in funding.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, members of the Senedd aired their despair at the situation during a debate over a petition that is calling for the reopening of the Bangor to Afon-wen and Aberystwyth to Carmarthen rail lines to reconnect north and south Wales. The petition received 13,000 signatures, prompting the debate, but the cost of the project is expected to be around \u00a32bn and take 10 years according to a study carried out by Transport for Wales<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the debate, the Welsh politicians complained of the UK government\u2019s allocation of rail funding to Wales as part of the funding that is being provided for south England.<\/p>\n Plaid Cymru Senedd member for Arfon Si\u00e2n Gwenllian said: \u201cPerhaps, in response to campaigning by Plaid Cymru around HS2, \u00a30.4bn will come to Wales \u2013 much less than the \u00a34bn that we are owed \u2013 and half of that funding would enable us to move towards making [the Bangor to Afon-wen and Aberystwyth to Carmarthen rail lines] a reality.<\/p>\n \u201c\u00a34bn is owed to us because of HS2. What are we receiving? \u00a30.4bn, as far as I can see, not a penny of that will come to west Wales.\u201d<\/p>\n Plaid Cymru member of the Senedd for Mid and West Wales\u00a0Cefin Campbell repeated Genllian\u2019s claims and expressed anger at the timeframe that is being mentioned for the funding to cover.<\/p>\n \u201cThe paltry\u00a0\u00a30.4bn for Welsh railways, announced by Rachel Reeves last week, spread across a period of 10 years, was another stain [\u2026] on the UK government\u2019s record on this matter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a fraction, as we\u2019ve known for a long time, of what we\u2019re owed, and a fraction of what English regions with smaller populations are receiving.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly today we heard that the total cost of HS2 is now about \u00a3100bn, so the money owing to Wales is closer to between \u00a35bn and \u00a36bn.\u201d<\/p>\n Welsh Labour and Co-operative minister Lee Waters \u2013 who was formerly Welsh deputy minister for climate change \u2013 further agreed the funding was inadequate.<\/p>\n \u201cI accept your point that we are underfunded and that we should be getting \u00a34bn if we had our proper share of rail investment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Discussing the proposal to reopen the Bangor to Afon-wen and Aberystwyth to Carmarthen rail lines, Waters said: \u201cWe do know that rail is very expensive. We all deeply regret the decision to get rid of these railway lines in the first place. It shouldn\u2019t have happened. But now it has happened, the cost of restoring them is very significant.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce the money is spent once, you can\u2019t spend it on something else, obviously. The feasibility study that the petition refers to, into the Afon Wen to Caernarfon line, and looking alongside at the outline costs of a Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line, showed that the indicative costs for restoring both of these is in the region of \u00a32bn. Now, that\u2019s \u00a32bn we don\u2019t have to spend on all the other transport priorities we have in Wales.\u201d<\/p>\n Waters went on to say how a recent study pointed out you could achieve significant improvement in public transport, particularly between Bangor and Caernarfon, with a light rail option and a rapid coach service.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a much more modest cost of something like \u00a34.5M to set up, and a \u00a32M annual running cost.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not as romantic as a railway, it\u2019s not as nice as a railway. We all like to travel by train, but there are real trade-offs that we need to face.\u201d<\/p>\n Discussing a feasibility study on the Bangor to Afon Wen line that was released earlier this year Welsh Labour and Co-operative member of the Senedd for North Wales\u00a0Carolyn Thomas said: \u201cThe report is written by and for engineers, but it is clear about the scale of the challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile most of the route identified in the report remains in the ownership of local authorities, there are 79 places where roads cross the route.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are also a number of homes and businesses that have grown up on the track bed, or close to it, and there are large sections that have been converted to popular active travel routes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile a third of the 43.7km route is deemed to require minimal intervention, there is 15% that would require high or very high intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n