Latest news with #railimprovements
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Wales's first minister hails spending review as 'big win' - but opposition call it an 'insult'
The Chancellor has pledged £445m for rail improvements in Wales over the next 10 years - but opposition parties have branded the investment an "insult" to the people of Wales. While the government says the majority of that money will be spent in the next three years, the average investment of £45m per year has been dubbed "shameful" by the Senedd 's largest opposition party. In total, Wales is set to receive £5bn extra in revenue and capital funding over the next three years. Among those pledges are £118m to secure the safety of South Wales's coal tips and £80m for port infrastructure at Port Talbot, which last year saw the closure of the blast furnaces at the town's steelworks. The rail funding comes after a row about the re-classification of a rail line between Oxford and Cambridge to an England-and-Wales project. That debate followed a similar one over high-speed rail project HS2, linking London and Birmingham. HS2 was classed as an England-and-Wales project by the Conservative government. If a project is classed as England-only, under an agreement called the Barnett Formula, Wales's devolved government gets a population-based share of funding, alongside Scotland and Northern Ireland. But England-and-Wales projects are considered to benefit both nations, so the Welsh government gets no extra cash from them. Labour argues the cash boost is a result of the two governments, in Westminster and Cardiff, working together to deliver for Wales. A Treasury source said Wales will "thrive" under the Labour Westminster government, and that the chancellor's package "has the potential to be truly transformative". Wales's first minister has described the spending review as a "big win" for Wales. Speaking to Sky News, Eluned Morgan said the announcements in the review were "great news" for Wales and represented the "biggest uplift we've had for a long time". "[The UK government knows] that we've been under-funded for a long time and today they've started to correct that injustice," she said. "We know that the amount that's been announced today is over and above what we would have had, had we had fairness when it comes to HS2." But opposition parties say the funding isn't enough, and claim that Wales is owed more. Ben Lake, Plaid Cymru's Treasury spokesperson, said the Chancellor's statement was "more smoke and mirrors" and accused the government of "shifting the goalposts on Welsh funding". Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar said the rail spending announcement was "an insult to the people of Wales". The Welsh Liberal Democrats' Westminster spokesperson, David Chadwick, said the funding "falls far short of the billions owed to Wales over recent years" and called for the full devolution of rail to Wales. A Reform UK spokesperson said the rail investment was "little more than a token" and did not "come close to addressing the decades of underinvestment our communities have endured".
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Government to ‘take forward our ambitions' for Northern Powerhouse Rail
The Government will 'take forward our ambitions' for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), the Chancellor said. Rachel Reeves said plans will be published shortly. NPR is a scheme to improve rail services between Liverpool and Leeds, which often suffer delays and cancellations. The previous Conservative government's Integrated Rail Plan sparked outrage among northern leaders in November 2021, when it said that a new line would only be built on one section, and the rest of the route would get enhancements to existing lines. Ms Reeves said: 'In the coming weeks I will set out this Government's plan to take forward our ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail.' The Chancellor announced £3.5 billion more funding to support the TransPennine Route Upgrade, a project to improve the railway between York and Manchester. She said the Government would provide £2.5 billion of additional funding to enable the 'continued delivery' of East West Rail, a new line between Oxford and Cambridge. In her spending review she also said railways in Wales would get £445 million investment over 10 years. Improvements at Cardiff West Junction and Padeswood sidings will be among those to be funded. Ms Reeves told the Commons: 'For 14 years, the Conservatives failed the people of Wales. 'Those days are over.'
