North Wales mainline: Fresh doubt over electrification

Plans for electrification of the north Wales rail mainline were first announced last October by then prime minister Rishi Sunak, with a “cast-iron” guarantee from one of his ministers.

He said the funding would come from the cancellation of HS2 high speed rail between Birmingham and Manchester.

However, National Rail has not received a “remit letter” from the Department for Transport, which is essential for confirming that funding is available and the project can proceed.

Rail infrastructure is not devolved so it is the responsibility of the UK not Welsh government.

On Monday, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a spending review, claiming she had discovered a £22bn shortfall in the public finances – a claim the Conservatives have strongly rejected.

As part of this review, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh is examining all projects within her portfolio.

Her Cabinet colleague, Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast the previous Tory government had “cooked the books”.

On the funding for the north Wales mainline, she said she was “very, very suspicious of the £1bn pound announcement” made by the Conservatives.

“We have to see whether or not there’s actually any money there. I rather suspect that there isn’t, because there was no explanation when the Conservatives made that announcement as to how they were going to pay for it and that will form part of the review that the transport secretary is undertaking,” she said.

Stevens added: “If there’s no money there we can’t do it. I mean, it’s like any householder, any business – government is the same. If the money’s not there, you can’t pay for it.”

Additionally, questions have been raised by BBC Wales about whether £1bn would be sufficient for the project, with industry sources estimating that an additional £500m might be needed.

It is understood stakeholder meetings took place early in 2024, but that since then little has progressed.

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts responded to Jo Stevens’ comments saying: “If the Secretary of State for Wales can’t be fighting for the corner of Wales, at a time when we need to be looking at our fossil fuel use and transport, it is deeply depressing to think about”.