‘Why can’t we have EU-funded trains here’
WHILE long-suffering Welsh rail travellers are having to make do with secondhand carriages and wait for service improvements, passengers in one of the poorest regions of Italy are riding in style in new trains bought with EU money.
Former Bridgend council leader Jeff Jones has just returned from a week in Puglia, where he marvelled at the design and comfort of the new trains.
“They are very comfortable, they’re well designed and on the outside of the carriages they have signs which explain that the trains were funded with money from the EU’s 2014-20 regional aid programme.
“I immediately thought, why can’t we have trains like this running between Cardiff and Maesteg, where I live, as well as on the other Valleys lines.
“There just doesn’t seem to be any imagination or ambition.
“Many people voted for Leave in the referendum because they couldn’t think of anything tangible that EU regional aid money had been spent on in their local communities.
“If you saw trains of this calibre going along the Llynfi Valley with a sign on the side saying they’d been funded by the EU, you’d be impressed.”
The new trains are part of a programme amounting to more than €7bn provided from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund that are intended to boost the economy of the Puglia region of south east Italy.
Professor Stuart Cole, one of Wales’ leading transport experts, said: “I am sure the Welsh Government would love to see improvements to the quality of trains which provide passenger services in Wales.
“We have a complicated privatised model in Britain, and trains are nearly all leased rather than bought.
“It’s fair to say that the Welsh Government is doing what it can.
“Rail infrastructure is not devolved, although the Welsh Government now has responsibility for the Wales and Borders franchise.
“The Welsh Government subsidises fares, taking the view that higher fares on the Valleys lines would make it more difficult for people to afford to travel to work in Cardiff.
“The cost of a season ticket from Aberdare to Cardiff is about half that of a season ticket from Dorking in Surrey to London, even though the distance is comparable. The UK Government takes the view that rail passengers should pay for the cost of their own travel.”
A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “We have secured significant funding from the EU to boost our rail network, including money to improve train stations and £140m through the European Regional Development Fund to progress the South Wales Metro.
“This funding makes improvements to our infrastructure in order to accommodate extra trains and create faster and more efficient journeys.”
The Puglia region’s main city is the port of Bari.