‘Electrification cash should stay in Wales’
MONEY saved from the muchcriticised cancellation of rail electrification between Swansea and Cardiff should be used to fund transport improvements in Wales, MPs have urged.
A report by the Welsh Affairs Committee, entitled “The cancellation of rail electrification in south Wales”, has today called on the Government to not use the money on projects such as Crossrail 2 or the Northern Powerhouse.
The committee points to a “stark gap” in funding between Wales and other parts of the UK, and says the cancellation of the electrification scheme has had a “demonstrable economic cost to the areas affected” and “left local people and businesses feeling badly let down”.
David Davies, Conservative MP for Monmouth and chairman of the committee, said the “hundreds of millions of pounds” saved by scrapping the scheme “can’t simply go back in the pot”.
Mr Davies said the “failures in planning and delivery” of the Great Western line are “well known”, adding: “Projected costs and benefits were completely out of sync with reality.
“Delays and watered down proposals mean that even the introduction of much-needed new rolling stock has left a sour taste.”
The report notes that electrification of the Swansea to Cardiff line would not have made a “significant” improvement to journey times unless the line was straightened, but says electrification would have brought other benefits such as fewer emissions.
It recommends that the Government considers the case for straightening to enable trains to run at higher speeds, and warns that it should “carefully” consider the merits and potential costs of the proposed Swansea Bay Metro.
MONEY which would have been spent on the cancelled rail electrification between Swansea and Cardiff should fund improvement to the Welsh transport network – and not diverted to projects in England, MPs have said.
The call has been made by the Parliamentary Welsh Affairs Committee, and follows the controversial decision last July not to proceed with the planned electrification of around 60 miles of track between Swansea and Cardiff.
The electrification of the Great Western Mainline from Paddington to Swansea was promised by the then Tory government of David Cameron in 2012.
But it was revealed in a National Audit Office report earlier this year that Prime Minister Theresa May personally took the decision to cancel electrification on the stretch between Cardiff and Swansea after costs spiralled – although £6.6bn worth of contracts were awarded as part of the next phase of the high speed rail network between London and Birmingham.
The cancellation is estimated to have saved the government around £433m, which the Welsh Affairs Committe says should be used to help breach the funding gap between Wales and other parts of the UK. The Welsh Government has said 11% of the UK rail network is in Wales – and yet, since 2011 it has received only 1.5% of the money spent on rail enhancements.
David Davies, Conservative MP for Monmouth and chairman of the committee, said: “It is calculated that the cancellation of the rail electrification between Cardiff and Swansea has saved the Government hundreds of millions of pounds, and this money can’t simply go back in the pot.
“Wales cannot have the only stretch of the line not to be improved then see the money saved go towards Crossrail 2 or the Northern Powerhouse. The money saved must be spent here in Wales.
“These decisions have a demonstrable economic cost to the areas affected. We have just seen Virgin Media jobs moved from Swansea to Manchester.
“When HS2 will see the journey time from Manchester to London slashed to only one hour eight minutes, while Swansea to London will be two hours 45 minutes, it comes as no surprise.”
Mr Davies said the “failures in planning and delivery” of the Great Western line are “well known”, adding: “Projected costs and benefits were completely out of sync with reality.
“Delays and watered down proposals mean that even the introduction of much needed new rolling stock has left a sour taste.”
Geraint Davies, MP for Swansea West, who sits on the committee, said: “Wales has consistently been denied its fair share of funding, which has tangible and catastrophic consequences, as shown by Virgin Media’s decision to move 800 jobs out of Swansea, citing Swansea’s poor transport links.
“Many of the jobs will go to Manchester, which has benefited from the £56bn HS2 project, cutting journey times between London and Manchester.
“Meanwhile journeys between Swansea and London remain at three hours and are infrequent. “Auditors KPMG has estimated that HS2 will cost 20,000 jobs in south Wales.
“There is no doubt that poor connectivity threatens the stability of the economy in south Wales.”
He added: “Swansea and South Wales is one of the poorest regions in Europe and faces increasing uncertainty from Brexit, so investment in rail infrastructure linking the region to the European electrified rail network is more needed than ever before.
“We want a holistic approach that brings together Swansea, Cardiff and Bristol. Proposals to have a Swansea Parkway station amount to short-changing the city region.
“The scheme is insufficient and would undermine the opportunity to breathe economic life into the city region.”
The report recommends that the UK Government considers the case for straightening the line between Swansea and Cardiff to enable trains to run at higher speeds, and warns that it should “carefully” consider the merits and potential costs of the proposed Swansea Bay Metro.
Committee member Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts said: “I welcome the report’s recommendation for the UK Government to assess the feasibility of devolving responsibility over rail infrastructure to Wales.
“Wales’ transport network suffers from chronic under-funding, and the current situation of having to rely on Westminster to upgrade our railways on our behalf clearly isn’t working.
“Despite the clear need for investment in Wales, Welsh taxpayers’ money is being used to fund England-only project like HS2 and Crossrail at the expense of our own railway infrastructure.
“I am therefore pleased that the committee agrees that every penny the UK Government is saving from cancelling the electrification of the Cardiff to Swansea line should be invested in Welsh railways.”
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, pictured left, said journey times between Cardiff and Swansea would not be affected by the decision, as new bi-mode trains – which switch from electric to diesel at Cardiff Central Railway Station – are just as fast as if the section was electrified.