03-06-2025
Anger as Oxford-Cambridge railway line classified as England and Wales project
Politicians have expressed frustration as upgrades to a railway line between Oxford and Cambridge have been classified by the Treasury as an England and Wales project, despite no work taking place in Wales.
The £6.6billion project will connect communities between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.
Usually, under the Barnett Formula - the system used to fund the devolved nations - Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland get extra money when more cash is spent on devolved issues like education in England.
But because the railways are not fully devolved to Wales, the Welsh Government doesn't receive this money when it comes to rail infrastructure, unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The issue hit the headlines when HS2 was also classified as an England and Wales project.
This has left some MPs feeling Wales is being shortchanged.
David Chadwick, Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, said on X: "There can be no justification for this whatsoever. The UK government has decided to deliberately shortchange Wales."
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, he said: "I don't think anybody seriously believes that a railway from Oxford to Cambridge benefits rail users in Swansea or Bangor.
"The Treasury is just using these classifications to avoid paying Wales what it's owed, and that's the real point - somebody in the UK Government has decided to shortchange Wales again by deliberately labelling this as an England and Wales project to avoid giving Wales any money, and that's why I'm calling for this to be re-classified as an England-only project."
In the Senedd, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth challenged First Minister Eluned Morgan on the issue, saying it was "confirmation that we have another HS2 on our hands. You could not make this up."
The first minister responded: "Rail infrastructure is not devolved to Wales, you might want it to be, but that is the situation it is in.
"There is a pipeline of projects for England and Wales. Are we getting our fair share? Absolutely not. Am I making the case? Absolutely. And I'm hoping we'll see some acknowledgment of that through the spending review.
"The Oxford- Cambridge line is part of that broader rail infrastructure, HS2 is an exception to that which is why we're making the case in a separate way. "
In a written answer to David Chadwick MP, the Department for Transport said: "East West Rail is set to cover the route from Oxford to Cambridge and is therefore part of the RNEP portfolio which covers funding for projects in England and Wales. The RNEP portfolio can be distributed to any scheme across England and Wales."
