Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to
implement the eighth recommendation of the Union Connectivity
Review, published on 26 November 2021, to invest in the South
Wales main line and ease congestion on the M4.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Transport () (Con)
My Lords, we are engaging with the Welsh Government and other
stakeholders to develop transport connectivity improvements
across Wales. I am delighted that we are today announcing a £2.7
million investment by the UK Government to develop options for
new stations and services on the south Wales main line, which
could relieve M4 congestion and support growth in the region.
(Lab)
Despite the Chief Whip’s comments, I beg leave to convey sincere
condolences from this side of the Chamber to the First Minister
of Wales, the Prif Weinidog, on the sudden and tragic loss of his
dear wife, Clare Drakeford. Er cof annwyl—may she rest in peace.
The Minister’s announcement is very welcome because, in terms of
figures, we have 5% of the UK population and 11% of track miles
but just between 1% and 2% of rail enhancement funding. I hope
this funding will actually take place as stated; we were going to
have electrification to Swansea but it did not happen. Can she
assure me that the Government will show the people that they
understand the importance of upgrading the relief lines between
the Severn tunnel and Cardiff?
(Con)
The Government are working closely with the Welsh Government. A
newly established Wales rail board, which reports to both the
Secretary of State for Transport and the Welsh Minister in charge
of climate change, will consider all the different options in
Wales and bring forward the most needed.
I of course echo the noble Baroness’s condolences, which are
deeply felt on this side of the House too.
(PC)
My Lords, in supporting the Question of the noble Baroness, Lady
Wilcox, I point out that the union connectivity report also
specifically recommends improving connectivity on the north Wales
coast line
“for faster journey times, more resilience and capacity … to
better serve North Wales”.
Since then, the number of through trains has halved and
advertised services have been cancelled at short notice. When
will the Government get their act together?
(Con)
Train services are of course a matter for Transport for Wales
but, on the infrastructure, recommendation 7 encouraged the
Government to look at the north Wales transport corridor. We will
take that recommendation on board. Funding is available in the UK
connectivity development fund, and, as ever, we look to proposals
from Transport for Wales and others.
(CB)
My Lords, if funds are to be found to ease the congestion on the
M4, will similar funds be found to ease the congestion
particularly on the M1, where I understand that congestion is at
least as severe?
(Con)
The M1 is one of our key arterial motorways, and it has had a
number of upgrades over the years to increase capacity. We
continue to look at those bottlenecks, and there will be more on
that when announcements are made for RIS3, which is the next road
investment strategy period, starting in 2025.
(Lab)
My Lords, why was electrification of the London to Cardiff line
not extended to Swansea, as promised by the Government?
(Con)
That was because assessment of that electrification project
showed no significant journey-time savings. In 2018, the National
Audit Office concluded that it is right to assess investment
decisions about upgrades to make sure that they give passenger
benefits. We have to put our funding where it can have the
largest passenger benefits.
(Lab)
My Lords, in addition to the helpful comments from the Minister
on south Wales and investment generally, what about rail
connectivity between the south and the north of Wales? That is
one of the worst links—it is the longest and I believe it goes
through England—so will there be some investment for that?
(Con)
I do not have any further details about north-south connectivity
in Wales. The union connectivity review very much focused on the
transport corridors that run across north Wales and along the
south coast, but I will write to the noble Lord if I can find out
more.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, in terms of UK connectivity, Northern Ireland
unfortunately cannot let the train take the strain: we rely on
air and sea connectivity. Given the sad collapse of Flybe, has
the Minister had any conversations about sustainable connectivity
between Northern Ireland and Great Britain?
(Con)
The noble Baroness is right: the collapse of Flybe was a sad
event, and we work closely with those who have lost their jobs
because of it. However, it was a much smaller airline than noble
Lords may have seen in the past. Of course we think about air
connectivity to Northern Ireland. We have a public service
obligation in place for the city of Derry/Londonderry, and there
are currently over 200 daily flights from Belfast.
(Con)
My Lords, when upgrades to our major rail infrastructure are
being considered, does it make sense for those upgrades to stop
short of central London, or should they reach into central
London, where most people would be connecting and travelling to
or from?
(Con)
As the Chancellor has made clear, HS2 will go to central London.
(Lab)
Could the Minister have a quiet word with her noble friend about the delays on
the line from Swansea to London? Twice in the past three weeks, I
have been delayed for over an hour. Once there was some
mitigation as there were floods, but on the last occasion the
replacement bus broke down and we were left with a very long
delay. Surely that needs to be looked at as a priority by the new
rail board. Is there any prospect of improving that line and of
looking again at electrification?
(Con)
As I said, services are run by Transport for Wales, but the new
Wales rail board will consider matters in the round. Sometimes
flooding occurs and replacement bus services can indeed break
down, but it is important that we improve services across south
Wales. The £2.7 million kicks off what could be very significant
investment: there would be five new stations, and improvements
between west Wales and Bristol Temple Meads will be looked at.
of Burry Port (Lab)
My Lords, we have heard mention of Swansea, the north Wales
corridor and various other places of great importance. From time
to time, I have to get to Lampeter. It used to have a railway
line, which I enjoyed using. If it were restored and continued to
Aberystwyth, a significant and time-saving step would be offered
to north and south Wales, and it would enable them to get their
act together.
(Con)
If the noble Lord will forgive me, I am not quite aware of where
Lampeter is—I am being told that it is “on the left”. For any
rail investment, we must look at the benefits and costs. If the
Welsh Government want to look at that and bring forward proposals
that show that the benefits would far outweigh the costs, we
would of course look at them.
(Lab)
Further to my noble friend Lord Griffiths’s question, it is very
welcome that we are talking about, we hope, opening lines that
were vandalised by Dr Beeching. The Government have had a plan
for doing some of that, so can the Minister update us as to how
many lines closed by Beeching are now in the process of being
reopened?
(Con)
I do not have the detail on that, but I know that the Okehampton
line has been reopened and that there is significant work going
on in other places. I will send an update on that programme to
the noble Lord.
