Minister counters calls for greater Welsh control

Calls for greater Welsh Assembly Government control of railways in Wales have been parried by Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris and Wales Office Minister David T.C. Davies.

Both were speaking at a virtual Welsh Affairs Committee on March 11, during which the issue of financing was challenged.

Ministers were asked why the Welsh Assembly Government was funding the £750 million Core Valley Lines upgrade, while the UK Government was only paying around a tenth of that figure for the North Wales Coast upgrade.

In response, Davies claimed that the CVL/Cardiff Metro project was supported via a Growth Deal, meaning that UK Government is paying half of the costs.

Heaton-Harris said: “Full devolution of Wales’ infrastructure would not be beneficial to passengers or freight. I wouldn’t want to do anything that would deteriorate the offer passengers have.”

Davies added: “The Core Valley Lines was possible because it is entirely in Wales. If devolution is wanted, then who will be responsible for what? Who pays for the repairs following one-off incidents such as flooding or landslides?

“What does the Welsh Assembly want to achieve from this? There is nothing that cannot already be done.”

Heaton-Harris pointed out that if the Welsh Assembly took on full control, then it could be liable for full costs of repairs to the network.

“Currently these are pooled across all of Network Rail, but that would mean the Welsh Assembly would have to prioritise funding from its block fund,” he said.