: Trefnydd, I'd like a
written statement, please, on rail infrastructure funding. I'd
like to know how much money has Wales lost over the years due to
the delay in the electrification of the Great
Western rail line, the fact that HS2 and probably the
Northern Powerhouse rail are classified as England-and-Wales
projects. Last week, I raised during First Minister's questions
the upgrading of the Cardiff west junction in Canton to enable
four trains an hour to run through all Cardiff stations. This is
the responsibility of Network Rail and UK Government. Since then,
it has been pointed out to my office that this originally was
included in the Department for Transport Network Rail Cardiff
area resignalling and renewal project 2012-15, but, for whatever
reason, it didn't happen. They said they were going to do it
between 2012 and 2015, but we're still waiting in 2023. Can we
please have it set out how much we have missed out on and why we
are missing out on this money? The answers we're receiving back
from the UK Government are becoming more and more weak, and that
is to put it mildly. Diolch yn fawr, Trefnydd.
(Minister for Rural
Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd): Thank you. Well, as
you know, the Welsh Government continues to press for the UK
Government to call Northern Powerhouse rail exactly what it is,
and that's an England-only project, and the same with HS2. I
think it would be interesting for Members to see the significant
funding that we haven't received in Wales, and I will certainly
ask the Deputy Minister, if he has all that information to hand,
to update Members in a written statement.
