Plans for North Wales metro service unveiled by Welsh Government
More rail and bus services, pay as you go technology and station improvements have been promised for North Wales over the next decade.
Plans for an “integrated, high-frequency public transport network” for North Wales, including a metro service between Wrexham and Liverpool, have been revealed by the Welsh Government.
More rail and bus services, pay-as-you-go technology and station improvements have been promised to be rolled out across the region over the next decade.
The Welsh Government says the plan, branded Network North Wales, will “unlock the economic potential” of the area and the cross-border region.
Once completed, it would see metro-style train services on the North Wales mainline, the Marches line (Chester to Wrexham) and a new, direct rail link between Wrexham and Liverpool.
Opposition politicians have criticised the announcement, with the Welsh Conservatives branding it a “fantasy wish list”.
While the Welsh government has not set out exactly how much the plans will cost, Stuart Cole, emeritus professor of transport at the University of South Wales, told the BBC he expects the work to cost around £2.1 billion.
Plans for a North Wales Metro were first mooted as part of Welsh Labour’s plan for the region in its 2016 manifesto, but little work has progressed on it in the decade since.
Work on a South Wales Metro, which has seen the development of a London underground-style rail network across Cardiff and the Valleys, is due to be completed in 2026.
The latest plans were unveiled by Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, at a Public Transport Summit in Wrexham on Thursday.
Mr Skates said the Government has already “delivered significantly for South Wales” and “now is the right time for North Wales to get the same level of ambition”.
The transport minister promised “delivery at an unprecedented pace” with a long-term vision, including the rollout of pay-as-you-go, improved stations, increased services and an additional integrated bus service as part of immediate changes over the next 12 months.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Skates said the Welsh government, which is putting £13 million towards the plans this year, would fund the service improvements, station improvements and introduction of pay as you go.
The UK government, which is responsible for the rail infrastructure itself, would be the “principal funder” for those improvements, but it is unclear how much money they will be providing.
“We’ve laid out this vision today without any constraints in terms of budgets, because I think you need to present the vision in order to then put together a strong business case to secure the funding to make it a reality,” Mr Skates said.
While he acknowledged Mr Cole’s cost estimate, the Welsh government minister said they were “deliberately not being constrained” by setting an amount.
“But often with rail, (schemes) take longer to deliver than planned, they cost more than estimated to deliver, but nobody regrets them when they’re finally completed.
“I’m not going to be bound by an overall sum for this particular project, but it is ambitious and spans not just North Wales but parts of the north west of England.”
In January, the UK government admitted that Welsh rail has been underfunded, with Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens saying it had not been “good enough”.
It followed a long-standing row over the lack of funding Wales received from the High Speed 2 rail project.
Mr Skates said there have been “excellent conversations” between the two governments and a “pipeline of priorities” has been agreed.
While he admitted they would have to wait for the UK government’s comprehensive spending review (CSR), he thought Wales was “in a really good position to be able to secure a good amount of funding”.
“We’ll know for certain in a matter of weeks when the conference CSR is presented, but based on the discussions that we’ve had with UK government, we are in a better position today, I believe, than at any time in my memory, in terms of being able to draw down the funding to make our vision of Network North Wales a reality,” he said.
Sam Rowlands, the Welsh Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for transport, branded it a “disingenuous announcement” and said he would be surprised if it gets passed the early planning stages.
He said: “The £13m outlined is less than 1% of the full funding needed and with no funding commitment from the UK Labour Government this announcement is nothing more than a PR exercise from a panicked Welsh Labour administration.
“We were promised a North Wales Metro 10 years ago and Labour ditched UK Conservative plans to electrify the North Wales line, so I question the timing of this considering Labour’s position in the polls with just one year to go until the election.”
Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said: “The continued lack of investment by the UK Government into rail services in Wales shows that Welsh Labour MPs hold little influence over their own Government.
“Far from fighting for Wales, the Welsh Secretary seems content for Wales to continue to get the same poor deal we had under the previous Conservative Government.”
The plans include:
– Commencing work on the line between Wrexham and Liverpool
– Doubling train services between Wrexham and Chester next May
– Bringing forward the introduction of 50% more services across the North Wales mainline from December 2026 to next May – including a new service from Llandudno to Liverpool and extending the Manchester Airport service to Holyhead in place of Llandudno.
– Upon completion of rail line works at Padeswood, increase train services between Wrexham and Bidston to two trains per hour within the next three years, with four trains per hour running direct between Wrexham and Liverpool by 2035.
The existing Borderlands Line will also be renamed the Wrexham – Liverpool line, with trains wrapped to reflect the communities and football clubs they serve.
Key stations on the line will see improvements over the next 12 months.
