Electrification of North Wales Mainline “no more than an election promise with no numbers behind it,” says deputy minister

A Welsh Government minister has branded the proposed electrification of the North Wales Mainline as “no more than an election promise with no numbers behind it.”

Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister for Climate Change, also called on the UK Government to deliver Wales’ fair share of funding after the axing of the second leg of HS2.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester on Wednesday (4 October) that he would halt the remaining phases of HS2, terminating the high-speed rail link between Birmingham and Manchester.

Despite HS2 not touching Welsh soil it had been argued that the improvements in the north west of England would benefit travellers and commuters in north Wales.

However speaking at his party’s conference on Wednesday Mr Sunak announced that funding for the second leg of HS2 would instead be diverted into hundreds of other projects – including a potential £1 billion for the electrification of the North Wales Mainline between Chester and Holyhead.

HS2 had been designated as a joint project between England and Wales by the UK Government, meaning that Wales will not receive additional transport funds, in contrast to Scotland and Northern Ireland

Speaking in the Senedd on Wednesday afternoon Lee Waters MS said Wales deserves its share of transport funding under the Barnett Forumla.

Mr Waters made the comments in response Plaid Cymru’s Delyth Jewell, who asked what discussions there had been with the prime minister about the redistribution of money now that HS2 has been scrapped.

Mr Waters said: “The cancellation of HS2 is clearly, from a transport point of view, a half-cocked initiative. There is no scheme, strategy or plan behind it. We don’t know much detail.

“In principle, it is welcome that other schemes are going to be funded instead, because we would expect to get a Barnett share of that for us to fund our priorities.

“But, again, we know nothing about it; we’ve had no conversations with the UK Government about this. This is no more than an election promise with no numbers behind it.

“It’s not the most important priority for passengers in north Wales. Far more could be done, for example, to increase line speeds on the north Wales main line, to improve Chester station, to improve the Wrexham-Bidston line.

“These are the real priorities for getting service improvements to passengers in north Wales.

“Of course we want to see electrification, but this is no way to do it.”

However Natasha Ashgar MS, Conservative shadow transport minister, argued that axing HS2 will bring investment into hundreds of “much-needed transport projects.”

She said: “This includes spending £1 billion, as you’ve also already mentioned, electrifying the north Wales main line, which will undoubtedly bring huge benefits to the area, particularly for the residents of north Wales.

“I know you may perhaps not have gone to north Wales, but my colleague here who does represent north Wales has said, and so have all the residents that have contacted me over the last six months, that they lack connectivity to much of the UK and have felt very much neglected by this Labour Government, particularly when it comes to areas of transport, particularly public transport.”

Mr Waters hit back stating that the connectivity between north Wales and the rest of the UK “is the responsibility of the body that has powers over rail infrastructure.”

He said: “These are not devolved. She is criticising me for her own Government’s lack of rail infrastructure investment in north Wales.

“It makes no sense at all. We just get a tumble of lines to take from central office that bear no relation to reality.

“She asked us about the consequential. A consequential of what? What are we having a consequential of?

“She’s quoted £1 billion. Where does that figure come from? Where are the numbers behind that £1 billion, because we’ve seen no work done on the development cost?

“She has no idea because she’s just spouting the latest lines that have no credibility.”