Investment in Welsh railway infrastructure and the impact of
Covid on passenger services will be scrutinised by the
Welsh Affairs Committee when it questions a
panel of experts in the field on Thursday.
The Committee’s Railway
Infrastructure in Wales Inquiry, for which this is the first
oral evidence session, is examining how levels of, and decisions
about, rail investment in Wales are made and how the UK and Welsh
Governments can work together to improve services.
Rail in the UK is undergoing reform as the UK Government ends the
franchising model used since privatisation began in 1994.
Meanwhile, the UK Government’s commitments to levelling-up and to
reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 could provide further
opportunity for rail enhancement across the country, however
there is considerable uncertainty about the potential medium to
longer term impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on rail investment
and services.
Among the topics likely to be discussed at this evidence session
are:
- the current state of rail infrastructure in Wales;
- the effectiveness, and clarity, of the current division of
responsibility for rail infrastructure between the UK and Welsh
Governments;
- the implications of the end of the franchising model for
operators; and
- investment levels since privatisation and how funding for
rail projects is allocated.
Witnesses:
At 14.30
Professor Stuart Cole, Emeritus Professor of
Transport, University of South Wales;
Professor Mark Barry, Professor of Practice and
Connectivity, Cardiff University;
, former special advisor at Department for
Transport.
Watch live and on demand at Parliament
TV.
