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Wales Online
4 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
The UK Government has to deliver £4bn of rail investment in Wales
The UK Government has to deliver £4bn of rail investment in Wales | Mark Barry Transport expert Professor Mark Barry of Cardiff University makes the case for UK rail enhancement investment in Wales to help address years of under investment out to 2040 The UK Government needs to get serious on rail investment in Wales says Prof Barry. (Image: John Myers ) Chancellor Rachel Reeves will next week present the UK Government's next three year spending commitments in the comprehensive spending review (CSR). That should, if London is listening, see some major pledges for rail enhancement investment in Wales. Instead of focusing on the case for rail devolution, the failings of the Barnett formula and decades of relative underspend on Wales's rail network by various UK governments, I want to focus on looking ahead and arguing for £4bn rail investment to 2040. As I set out in a letter to Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander last December, this is based on rail enhancement commitments likely in England of approximately £80bn over the same period. These commitments include to complete HS2, TransPennine upgrade, East West Rail, and some new schemes in England - some of which have been announced ahead of the CSR including more trams in Manchester, Leeds-Bradford tram, Liverpool, Bristol and the West of England. Some £4bn for Wales would be a commensurate and a fair Barnett allocation and can be directed at schemes in Wales already subject to significant business case and scheme development. Article continues below To be clear, Wales needs this investment not just because its fair or right, but because of the benefits, especially economic, that can be realised. These include mode shift and reduced carbon emissions, economic agglomeration and development benefits, more transit oriented development , reduced road traffic accidents, improved air quality, more financially efficient public transport operations, reduced road congestion (freeing up road space for those that need to use them) and less wear and tear of our roads. Bus reform in Wales and how it could play out READ MORE: As I set out in my book How to build a Metro, in Wales via Transport for Wales, Welsh Government, the regions and local authorities, we have already developed a range of rail enhancement schemes to at least outline business case, commensurate with that scale of investment and which will deliver these wider benefits to 2040. In summary they are: South Wales Main Line (SWML) upgrade £1bn) We need to see the five Burns stations (pretty much along the lines of the proposals in the 2013 Metro Impact Study and later presented in the Western Gateway 2050 Rail Vision). This would see new stations at Cardiff East, Parkway, Newport West, Maindy, Llanwern and Magor and the complementary relief lines upgrade. We also need: More electrification heading west to Swansea and Carmarthen. New services including Bristol Temple Meads to Cardiff, with some continuing west from Cardiff to Swansea and Carmarthen. I would also explore whether we could route one via the Vale of Glamorgan Line and Cardiff Airport. The new open access Lumo (part of FirstGroup) fast Carmarthen-Cardiff-London service which will skip Swansea High Street and Neath (but stopping at Gowerton) enabling Carmarthen to function as a Parkway for West Wales. I would also like to see the GWR services into South Wales mapped into the Transport for Wales franchise or GBR Cymru arrangements post the establishment of Great British Railways. Swansea Bay and West Wales £500m There is very good initial phase of a Metro in Swansea/Neath/Llanelli which has been subject to significant scheme and business case development. The first key phases of this urban area rail Metro include two new key routes and services with: Bury Port to Swansea High Street with a new station at Cockett. Pontardulais-Llandarcy-Neath-Swansea service using the Swansea District Line (SDL) and a new chord connection to the South Wales Mainline at Britton Ferry to allow direct services to Swansea High Street from the SDL. This can support new local Metro stations at Morriston, Llandarcy, Pontlliw. Felindre, etc. We also need enhanced local rail services west of Swansea all the way to Milford Haven aligned to a range of tactical infrastructure enhancement – these complement some of the South Wales Mainline service measures set out above This work needs to be combined with a focus on more and greater transit-oriented development at primary stations like Llandarcy, Neath, Llanelli and in/around Swansea High Street stations. North Wales £1bn Transport Secretary Ken Skates set out a big vision for North Wales at a transport conference in Wrexham last month. This vision needs to see some early measures and focused delivery with an initial £1bn programme that includes: Upgrade of borderlands and integration with Merseyrail and use of their new 777s electric stock; early measures to deliver capacity for freight at Padeswood. North Wales Main Line (NWML) line speed and capacity upgrades to allow more services – both local all stopper with increased frequency, and long-distance express. A rolling electrification programme. New stations and key station upgrade for example, Shotton (as an interchange), Deeside Industrial Estate and especially Chester to allow more capacity through the station. Longer term the application of tram-train in both north east and north west Wales. Cardiff Capital Region Metro £500m Now there are good cases to be made for at least a further £2bn of rail and metro investment in the Cardiff Capital Region. This includes the full Cardiff Crossrail, Aberdare-Hirwaun, Cross Valley, Caerphilly-Newport and an extension in Merthyr. However, the initial and pragmatic focus has to be: Deliver a Metro in Cardiff (which is not really delivered as part of the current South Wales Metro programme. This means Cardiff Crossrail phase two. At its core this needs to see the City and Coryton lines operate with at least 4 trains per hour (tph) instead of the 2tph planed, this needs work at Cardiff West junction, and a Coryton loop. Station Link at Central to connect Crossrail Phase 1a (to the Bay) to the west, electrification to Penarth and tram-trains on Penarth – Coryton via the Bay. Then further Metro stations, including Roath Park, Ely Mill, Gabalfa, Treforest Industrial Estate, Pontypridd North and a new platform at Cogan on a Penarth branch served by tram-trains. Some further double tracking to the Core Valley Lines to improve capacity and reliability. New Ebbw Valley line services planned (to get 4tph south of Llanhilleth) routing to the Marches line and Abergavenny with a new stop at Caerleon and perhaps Sebastopol (this a better investment than the short extension to Abertillery). Maesteg line measure to deliver at least 2tph. Then perhaps, the Coryton-Radyr link (in whatever form is appropriate) as this connection helps build our connected public transport grid. It will also make the new Velindre hospital more accessible from the north of Cardiff. Marches Line £500m This line supports what is perhaps Transport for Wales' most profitable service. It needs to be upgraded so we can offer a reliable sub three hour Cardiff-Manchester journey time. This will require: Some passing sections upgraded track and signalling and some electrification. In some places new local services in NE and SE Wales so that local stations (eg Pontypool, Caerleon (new), Ruabon, Chirk, etc can be taken off long distance services and served instead by new local Metro services. Further measures may be required at Crewe. Finally To conclude giving the tens of billions committed in England (which I welcome outside London) we need to see a forward commitment of at least £4bn to 2040 in Wales, anything less is just not acceptable, and would be politically toxic. And for my perspective we still need full rail devolution to Wales. In addition to this core rail investment, we need to integrate these interventions with our new post bus reform redesigned bus networks (which will also need more investment. Article continues below The Welsh Government and the regional joint corporate committees also need to find the further infrastructure investment needed to deliver more bus priority and bus lanes, especially in our urban areas. This will improve both the attractiveness of bus services and the financial efficiency of bus operations.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MP calls for rail route be named after Alan Turing
An MP has called for a new train line upgrade to be named after mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing. Luke Charters, who represents York Outer, asked the Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central, whether the new TransPennine York to Manchester line should be renamed as the Turing Line. Last year, the government announced a £400m funding package for an upgrade to the main line between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, and York, to cut journey times to a little as 63 minutes. Mr Charters said renaming the route would honour Mr Turing's legacy due to his work on computing at the University of Manchester. He said: "I'm thrilled to receive support from the Leader of the House on this campaign. Both our constituencies in York Outer and Manchester Central are not only tied together by a strong northern identity, but vital rail infrastructure making it easier for our constituents to travel between our two great cities. "Alan Turing is one of the most influential people in the history of this country. It would be a fantastic moment for this new rail line to become a tribute to his work - and the historic legacy he has left our great nation – not least following the 80th anniversary of VE Day. "With two weeks until Pride celebrations begin across the country, this is a fitting time to pay tribute to one of Britain's most influential LGBTQ+ figures." Powell said it would be "a fitting tribute to consider the TransPennine route or perhaps another railway line being named after him". While at the Bank of England, Charters was part of the team that helped put Mr Turing on the new £50 banknote. Mr Turing's efforts in cracking the Enigma code are part of the reason that Britain won World War Two. In 2017, thousands of men convicted under historic homophobic laws were also posthumously pardoned as part of "Turing's Law". Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Alan Turing to 'answer questions' in new AI display 'Turing's Law' pardon considered for gay convictions Turing saved 'millions of lives' Celebrating Alan Turing's genius
The Guardian
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Walking the Pennine Way put everything into perspective for me, including my right to be here
Dear Pennine Way: I'd like to wish you a happy 60th birthday. Many thousands have trodden along you, and so have I. You've brought us blisters but also beautiful views, buoyed spirits and a renewed sense of belonging. I got the idea to walk the Pennine Way – which on 24 April turns 60 – after being racially abused on a TransPennine train journey. A man asked me if I had a British passport, threatened to set me on fire and told me to go back to where I'm from. The latter hit a nerve: I am from the North of England and proud of it. One day I was looking at a map of that journey and saw the Pennine mountains rising up. I zoomed closer and saw a place called Hope, and I determined that I'd walk through the glorious place I'm from and try to channel hope throughout. Walking was transformative to my physical and mental health. I'd been suffering from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder – racism and inequality affect mental health. Walking was ameliorative as I focused my attention on the wonders of wildlife, burned away stress by the River Ribble and felt my heart beat louder as I hiked on up through the Yorkshire Dales, stopping to marvel at the view from Pen-y-ghent as the clouds began to clear. I walked along the 'backbone' of the country – as the Pennines are known due to their astonishing limestone cliff formations – as a way of showing backbone myself: I won't let racial abuse stop me adventuring in a country where I belong. My journey was inspired by the Manchester Ramblers from my home town, who walked against exclusion in the Kinder Scout mass trespass – which celebrates its 93rd anniversary also on 24 April. Their walk helped improve access to the countryside, paving the way for the formation of the Peak District (the country's first national park), the Pennine Way, and the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The Manchester Ramblers – immortalised in Ewan MacColl's song – showed that they could help walk the world to a better future. It's important to ensure that their hard-won freedoms aren't eroded: England's national parks are imperilled due to budget cuts. It's vital we speak up for their existence, for their belonging here. There were moments when I thought I couldn't go on – not least after almost toppling off Malham Cove – but what fuelled my footsteps, alongside the extraordinary landscape, was a burning sense of defiance. In Settle in the Yorkshire Dales, I saw a plaque commemorating the journey of Alfred Wainwright, who walked the Way in 1938 and wrote A Pennine Journey, published in 1986. Reading it was enraging on account of the misogynistic stereotypes – Wainwright writes about 'the wild joys of boyhood' and comments: 'I've wondered many a time: have the ladies the same capacity for enthusiasm? … I have not yet witnessed genuine enthusiasm in one of them; often I have seen a pretence of it, but the divine spark was missing.' I may be missing the 'divine spark', but my enthusiasm powered me on over mountains, valleys and considerable obstacles, all the way to the sadly now felled Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian's Wall. Toxic prejudices still persist about who belongs here and who is capable. My book, titled I Belong Here, is a chronicle of my Pennine journey and also a clarion call for rightful belonging in the face of hostile and persistent exclusion of minorities from societal power structures, and media, and publishing and literary landscapes. Ironically one agent advised me to take out the word 'Pennines', because 'the book won't sell as no one cares about the north'. I was also told that someone like me couldn't be a travel and nature writer – the subtext being that I was not white and/or male so I did not fit with the 'lone enraptured male' profile prevalent in this genre (Wainwright might be turning in his grave to know I was shortlisted for a nature-writing prize named after him. My PE teacher would be surprised too. As we celebrate this great walking path, it's worth remembering how far there still is to go for all to be safe and free and welcome while walking through the world. In England, 92% of the land is not covered by the right to roam, contrasting with Scotland, where the public has access to walk through most of it as long as they do so responsibly. England's land is still entrenched in centuries-old feudal inequality. And as women walking, we face greater levels of harassment outdoors, the vulnerabilities heightened for a woman of colour with risk of racist harassment. Long-distance hiking is a lesson in stoicism in the face of obstacles. It's an apt metaphor for the journey through life – little wonder that the walk has been a literary trope for centuries. But rather than approaching the Way as a competitive sport, I did it my way, as it were; I didn't care about finishing fastest but wanted to savour each step instead. So happy birthday, dear Pennine Way. Five years on from my epic journey, I'm trying to keep walking a hopeful path. I hope if anyone who's reading this today (or in 60 years), feels stuck or lost in life, or crushed by discrimination, that you don't give up, that you keep on going; that you believe you belong here, because you do. I hope you'll keep going for the view along the way as well as from the top of the mountain. Anita Sethi is the author of I Belong Here: A Journey Along the Backbone of Britain and is featured in the new exhibition A Trail of Inspiration: the Pennine Way at 60
