Where are new railway stations being built in Newport?
The boost, which gives Wales a total extra £1.6 billion, will see five new rail stations between Cardiff and the border. UK Government said the settlement is the "best in the history of Welsh devolution."
Chancellor Reeves told Parliament the new stations will follow the route from 'Cardiff West Junction.' These proposed stations will be: Newport West, Somerton, Llanwern and Magor and Undy - the latter being promised as an innovative alternative to a parkway – a 'walkway station' that reduces car use and encourages sustainable transport.
The Welsh Government has already committed more than £300 million to building an integrated transport system for Wales. The Reeves boost will add to the Welsh Government's now considerable spending and planning armoury for transport.
The Chancellor's announcement backs the Welsh Government's vision for transport, which will add to the rail improvements with minor changes such as bus lane extensions, more cycling and walking routes, as well as general upgrades in the importance of what is known as public and sustainable routes.
The result of the spending review will mark a significant victory for Welsh Labour and its lobbying of the UK Government on spending and transport issues. It is also seen as a boost for Welsh Labour ahead next year's Senedd elections.
Roads will remain a lesser priority in Welsh Government policy and planning. The Chancellor's cash boost and already committed Welsh Government money will now set out how planning and infrastructure policy will be approached and funded for many years to come.
The new railway stations will form the backbone of major public transport improvements to the entire southeast of Wales and be an alternative to infrastructure investment on the now out-of-date and clogged M4.
The improvements will include relief tracks on the South Wales main line being converted to carry passenger trains.
Ken Skates, the Welsh Government's cabinet secretary for transport, has said the new stations will 'allow millions of new train journeys each year' and form part of a 'transformational project'.
The plans have been proposed by the Welsh Government as an alternative to an M4 relief road or other alternatives to infrastructure upgrades on the now jammed major route through south Wales.
Two years ago, the Welsh Government had said it expects the first of the new stations to be completed by 2027. The new stations are being touted as the cornerstone of Welsh Labour's planned 'sustainable transport corridor' along the A48 between Cardiff and Newport. The work, beginning this financial year, was said to take five years to complete.
Opposition parties have expressed doubt. The Welsh Liberal Democrats said Wales is again being 'short changed' by Labour.
Meanwhile Plaid Cymru's Heledd Fychan MS said: "£445m is merely a drop in the ocean compared to the billions Wales is owed on rail, and what Labour – up until they came into power – used to agree with us on.'
Welsh Conservatives said the people of Wales had again been cheated of money and services by Labour and that Welsh ministers have their heads the sand.
Previously, Welsh Conservative transport Brief, Gwent's Natasha Ashgar, had been more forthright in her views on Labour's 'sustainable vision for transport,' which she labelled as 'pandering to extreme eco-warriors,' when she spoke to the South Wales August in 2022.
Among other details relevant to Wales, a further £118 million will be allocated to coal tip safety.
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