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Chancellor Rachel Reeves 'determined' to get new train stations open in Wales as 'quickly as possible'
Chancellor Rachel Reeves 'determined' to get new train stations open in Wales as 'quickly as possible'
She made the statement of intent while speaking to WalesOnline on a visit to the old Dyffryn Rhondda coal tip
Chancellor Rachel Reeves pictured on a visit to Wales
(Image: Getty Images)
Rachel Reeves has said she is determined to get new railway stations open in Wales as "quickly as possible". The chancellor made the statement of intent whilst speaking to WalesOnline as she visited Port Talbot at the now-disused Dyffryn Rhondda coal tip to see the work being done to protect families and businesses from disused coal tips.
Five new railway stations are to be built as as part of a £445m investment into rail in Wales being funded by the UK Government. The hope is that stations between Cardiff and the Severn Tunnel will provide an alternative to car travel for tens of thousands of people in southeast Wales.
They were first suggested as part of a package proposed by Lord Burns who was tasked with coming up with ways of reducing congestion on the M4 now plans for a relief road to the south of Newport have been abandoned.
The new stations would provide an alternative way for people to travel around southeast Wales between Cardiff and Bristol and are one of a number of rail projects now expected to begin following the announcement of £445m for rail in Wales in Ms Reeves' spring statement.
Mrs Reeves speaks to the press
(Image: Matthew Horwood/PA Wire)
WalesOnline asked the chancellor when we can expect to see the plans develop. This is what she said.
WalesOnline: 'When will people see a station being built and passengers using one of those new stations you promised?'
Rachel Reeves: "I was in Cardiff just a few weeks ago seeing trains being released to go on new lines and we've committed to five new railway stations, the Burns Review stations, and better connections and more trains both in north and south Wales. We've put in £445m in this spending review period and I'm determined that we get those stations open as quickly as possible.
"There's nothing stopping that money now. We've allocated it, we want it spent, and we want people on those trains to better connect people, including in the valleys, with jobs in places like Cardiff and Swansea too."
WalesOnline: "Your government has accepted Wales has been underfunded on rail and while the spending review brought some money can you confirm you will use the Railways Bill to ensure the historic injustices that have affected Wales aren't repeated in future?"
Rachel Reeves: "There's a proud history of railways in Wales and we want people, including here in the valleys, to be able to benefit from better train connections to get them to college and to good jobs and that's why we're putting this £445m in.
"Speaking to people here today, they have told me about the population declines that we've seen in recent decades in the valleys and a lot of that reflects the lack of good work paying decent wages.
"One thing we can do is better connect the jobs that are there and growing in places like Swansea and Cardiff where people do not have to uproot themselves and stay in the valleys, where they live and where they love, but be able to get access to those good jobs paying decent wages and that's why we're putting this much needed investment into railways in Wales.
"This is a really good example of the UK Labour government and Welsh Labour government working in partnership to deliver for the people of Wales."
Disused coal tips remain a legacy of Wales' coal industry, and present severe risks for Welsh communities from landslides or flooding. Just last November a disused coal tip in Cwmtillery, Blaenau Gwent, partially collapsed, forcing around 40 homes and families to be evacuated.
The chancellor pictured talking with Walters employees who are carrying out a remediation scheme at the site
(Image: Matthew Horwood/PA Wire)
A total of £118m was provided at the spending review by the chancellor to protect Welsh communities comes in addition to £25m from last year's autumn budget amounting to £143m to deliver the essential funding to protect existing homes while enabling new areas of land to be secured for future house building by the Welsh Government.
When combined with funding from the Welsh Government £220m has now been invested to make coal tips in Wales safe.
In a statement, Mrs Reeves said: "I know the scars that coal tip disasters have left on Welsh communities. This £143m investment will protect families and communities from the risks posed by disused coal tips whilst opening up sites to build new homes for hard-working Welsh families.
'These sites need to be safe and this funding demonstrates how we are delivering our Plan for Change, putting the safety of working people first and supporting economic growth."
The chancellor was also asked during her visit about the latest Senedd elections polls showing Welsh Labour falling behind opposition parties.
She said: "We've got important elections coming up in Wales next year and it is the first time in a decade and a half that we've actually had a Welsh Government and a UK Government working in partnership. We're beginning to see the results of that. I'm here today because the UK Labour Government is putting £118m into coal tip remediation.
"Just a few weeks ago I was in Cardiff because we are putting £445m into better train connections in south and north Wales. And for the first time in a long time the NHS waiting lists are actually starting to fall in Wales because we've got a UK Government investing alongside the Welsh Government to bring those waiting lists down.
"People will have to make up their minds next year but there's a real opportunity to keep that good work going or take a risk on another party."
She also addressed concern about potential tax rises in Wales.
She said: "Judging on my record we had a budget last year where the public finances were in a mess and public services were on their knees. I increased taxes on the wealthiest with changes on non-doms on private jets, on private schools, but the key taxes that working people pay didn't go up.
"We stopped the increase in fuel duty that the Conservatives had planned. My priority is that working people, both here in Wales and across the UK are better off.
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"That's why I increased the national living wage and the national minimum wage whilst we're doing things like introducing free school meals for more children at school because we want more money in the pockets of ordinary people."
