Decision on electric rail route in Wales ‘not yet taken’
Mar 25 2009 by Tomos Livingstone, Western Mail
train
A DECISION on whether to electrify the Great Western railway all the way to Swansea has not yet been taken, Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones assured MPs yesterday.
There have been concerns that the project, which would cut journey times significantly, would only cover the London-Bristol stretch of the line.
But Mr Jones told MPs the Assembly Government had been lobbying the Department for Transport to ensure the whole line was upgraded.
Suggestions the Victorian Severn Tunnel was an obstacle were wide of the mark, he said.
In evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Mr Jones said: “Network Rail seem to be quite confident on the robustness of the tunnel. I think they say it’s one of their better tunnels.
“We have to rely on what they say... even if the line were electrified it could withstand that sort of investment, and we have to accept that.
“The case we have made is that electrification should happen, at least as far as Swansea. We are very strongly of that view, not just in that interests of passengers but in the interests of the economy. We believe it will enhance our position.”
Mr Jones, whose portfolio includes transport as well as economic development, has held a series of meetings with Westminster Rail Minister Lord Adonis.
“We’ve been given an assurance that no decisions have been made about that. The case for us to be pushing for Swansea is still there.”
Earlier this week Mr Jones told the Western Mail he wanted to see Cardiff-London travel times cut in half to one hour, an idea Labour MP Alun Michael said yesterday “sounds like space travel”.
Siân James, the MP for Swansea East, said: “It’s very important the line is electrified. If we’re serious about getting people to use public transport and we want improved trade and business links, then we have to make sure this key route out of West Wales is connected to European networks.”
Professor Stuart Cole, of the Wales Transport Research Centre at the University of Glamorgan, said the Severn Tunnel was no barrier to electrification of the line.
“There is no question, no doubt, that there is no technical problem,” he said. “Network Rail are building through other tunnels, like Chipping Sodbury.”
He added: “The rates of return are better for electrification from Heathrow Junction going to Swansea than Heathrow going to Bristol, if you do the job at the same time because the marginal costs per mile reduce.”
In rail improvement plans already announced, Cardiff will receive a £30m upgrade of the central rail route, with extra platforms at Queen Street and Cardiff Central stations, and track capacity improvements at Cogan, in the Vale of Glamorgan. There would also be a new half-hourly service between Cardiff and Merthyr, Mr Jones said.
In a wide-ranging evidence session, he also suggested an improved relationship with Cardiff airport, who accused the Assembly Government in December of an “un-businesslike” approach to negotiations.
But Mr Jones conceded there were problems in North East Wales, where improvements to the A494 and the Wrexham-Bidston rail line are both delayed.
He also confirmed there were no plans to introduce road charging on existing roads. “There has been some press comment about how we might do this on the A470 or the A55,” he said. “We’re clear we wouldn’t do this on the existing network [although] I can’t speak for any future Government.”
The planned M4 relief road around Newport, due to be built before 2013, is expected to be Wales’ first toll road.
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