UK government admits Welsh rail funding is low

The First Minister has welcomed the UK Government’s admission that spending on improving Wales’s railways has been at “low levels” in recent years.

Alunred Morgan said it was the first time that UK ministers had acknowledged that Welsh railways were underfunded.

The letter does not promise new money, although Morgan said he expected it to be “significant”.

Welsh politicians have complained for years about this issue and the lack of additional funding for Wales from the High Speed ​​2 (HS2) rail project.

Welsh plaid Cymru said the letter did not commit to righting the “wrongs” of HS2, while the Conservatives said they would continue to demand additional funding.

A UK government statement said that UK ministers “cannot fix inherited injustices” but acknowledged that Wales “suffers long-term underinvestment”.

Because HS2 is designated as an England and Wales project, despite no tracks reaching Wales, Wales receives no additional funding as a result.

Politicians have given varying figures of how much Wales owes for HS2, ranging from £4 billion suggested in the past by plaid and the Welsh Government, to £350 million in the latest figures from Welsh ministers.

But I am saying Phone-in to BBC Radio WalesMorgan said money had been “poured” into HS2 which was classified as an England and Wales project, “even though not an inch of track had been laid in Wales”.

He said this was a “fundamental injustice”.

“For the first time, the UK government has acknowledged that we are underfunded,” he said.

Morgan said negotiations had “already begun” on a “long list of projects” in which investment could be made.

When Morgan was asked whether there would be consequential funding from HS2, he suggested there would not be.

“It will probably be the size of the new stations,” he said.

In a letter to the Welsh Government on behalf of UK Government Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens, ministers said: “We recognize that the railways in Wales have made significant progress in recent years, particularly in terms of major investments. Have seen low levels of growth spending, such as HS2”.

The letter made clear that the decision on additional cash would depend on the Treasury, adding that Chancellor Rachel Reeves “has been clear on the state of the public finances delivered by the previous government”.

He said the prioritization of rail service projects proposed by the Welsh Rail Board, of which both governments are part, will inform work with the Treasury ahead of the spending review in the spring.

A UK government source said: “We recognize that Wales has suffered persistent underinvestment under successive Conservative governments, including for HS2. We cannot fix the injustice we have inherited.

“But we can and will fight for a funded pipeline of future rail projects in Wales for the first time in decades.”

The letter said ministers agreed that the Transport Commission’s recommendations should be prioritized in North and South East Wales.

In South Wales the Commission proposed five new stations – Cardiff East, Newport West, Somerton, Llanwern and Magor & Undery – at an estimated cost of £335m, plus £50m to improve the mainline.

Improvements have also been proposed to the Wrexham to Liverpool line. The UK Government letter praised both sets of proposals, saying they “have the potential to drive economic growth”.

Lleil Gruffydd of plaid Cymru said: “The First Minister is clearly reading a very different letter to what we have read.

“It does not reference the unfairness of HS2 nor does it say that Labor will right the entire £4 billion owed to Wales. Alund Morgan is mixing two very different issues.

“If Labor were serious about giving Wales fair play they would give us the full £4 billion we are owed, as they said they would.”

A spokesperson for the Welsh Conservatives said: “The Welsh Conservatives continue to strive to get results for Wales from the HS2 project in England.

“Based on spending to date, this will exceed £1.5 billion, but as spending increases further, we will continue to seek Barnet results for the final total amount spent.”