£2.1bn north Wales rail overhaul plans unveiled by Welsh government

A £2.1bn plan to overhaul north Wales’ railway network has been unveiled by Welsh Transport Secretary Ken Skates, but with no funding commitment from the UK government so far.

The proposals include more services, the introduction of pay-as-you-go “tap in tap out” technology, electrification of lines and a Metro-style service linking Wrexham and Liverpool.

Promising the plans would mean “better stations and more trains”, Welsh ministers have committed an initial £13m, with substantial UK government cash needed to realise the proposals.

The UK government has been asked to comment.

The plans for an “integrated, high-frequency public transport network” were announced at a “Public Transport Summit”, in Wrexham.

Speaking at the event, Skates said: “Working together, we’ll deliver our ambitious plans that take us to 2035 and beyond.”

The Welsh government is working with partnerships across “governments and borders across the north”, he said, to “turn dreams into a reality”.

The plans include work on the Wrexham to Liverpool line as the first phase of introducing direct Metro services between the two cities.

There are also proposals to double services between Wrexham and Chester by next May.

As well as a 50% increase in north Wales mainline services, the proposals include the introduction of a new Llandudno to Liverpool route and extending the Manchester Airport service to Holyhead.

Previous rail plans and funding promises for north Wales have been marked by plenty of stops and starts by both Welsh and UK governments.

In 2023, former prime minister Rishi Sunak promised electrification for the north Wales mainline at a cost of around £1bn, a commitment that never came to fruition.

Currently it is not clear if previous requests for rail funding will be granted by the UK government.

Eluned Morgan has said the UK government is talking to Cardiff ministers about “significant investment” on a “long list of projects”, which would “probably be in the shape of new stations”.

In a letter in January UK government Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander appeared to endorse a range of schemes in north and south Wales, including £335m worth of new stations between Cardiff and Magor.

More recently, with Labour governments now at both ends of the line in Cardiff and London, there is still no promised funding from HS2 consequentials, with rail investment central to Morgan’s lobbying of the UK governments through her Red Welsh Way approach.

“Funding is the key issue,” said Professor of Transport Stuart Cole.

“£2.1bn is a reasonable figure, £1bn for the north Wales line and £1bn for the rest. Is it a political attempt to get more money? To get more votes?

“There’s an election coming in a year’s time, and I have no doubt the Labour government in Cardiff would want to show they are getting strong support from London.”

The Welsh government says that the programme will be “similar in scale and ambition” to that of the South Wales Metro.

“With the core valley lines the vast majority of money, some £750m of the £1.1bn to electrify the valley lines, came from the Welsh government and some £125m from the UK government,” Prof Cole added.

“The vision is great. But the funding is a difficulty. Where is the £2.1bn coming from?”

“I’m sure Ken Skates is hoping to get more out of the UK government but there has to be something written down which says you’re going to get it. HM Treasury in London has never been a giver of money to railways in Wales.”

This North Wales Network is a plan aimed at improving connectivity between North Wales and the “Northern Arc”, an economic corridor in the north of England with focus on connecting cities and regions within England.

Over the border similar ambitions have been expressed by Manchester Labour Mayor Andy Burnham.

Following Labour’s poor performance, and Reform UK’s gain in the local elections in England, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram have renewed calls for UK government ministers to support a Liverpool to Manchester railway line.

Burnham said the line was promised a decade ago and that it was no surprise many voters in the north of England “feel so alienated from the system”.