Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies has applauded the Secretary of State for Transport’s commitment to the electrification of the North Wales mainline.
Last week, James met the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Mark Harper MP, along with other North Wales MPs, businesses, and stakeholders to discuss the major upgrade of the line, which will include electrification, and how it will be delivered.
The Government plans to provide at least £1 billion to fund the project, which Mr Harper said was an “unprecedented investment” in the region.
The roundtable took place in Llandudno Junction on Friday morning.
Commenting after the meeting, James said:
“Upgrading the North Wales Main Line will reinforce its role as a vital part of the UK's strategic transport network.
“The scheme is designed to improve journey times and reliability on a 126-mile route between Crewe and Warrington to Holyhead.
“It will get more people off the roads and onto trains and help to decarbonise travel.
“I was very pleased to meet the Secretary of State for Transport, businesses and cross border stakeholders to discuss the delivery of this major upgrade and the huge benefits it will deliver. These include quicker and more reliable connections which will bring economic and social benefits to North Wales and help the Levelling Up of places such as Rhyl.
“The upgrade will also be instrumental in binding the country together.
“We heard from the Secretary of State and the Network Rail officials present that initial assessments have taken place to look at how electrification can be delivered, taking on board the lessons learned from other electrification projects. It is thought that only a small proportion of overhead bridges will pose a constraint and need to be replaced, while thought has also been put into options for the tunnelled sections.
“The importance of constructing a new Deeside Parkway Station for Deeside Industrial Park was also discussed, along with the need to address existing bottlenecks and limitations along the mainline.”
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Harper said:
“The North Wales Main Line is a vital transport link and our billion-pound plan will deliver faster and more reliable rail services for passengers in North Wales and the North West of England.
“Our plan is made possible by our decision to reallocate every penny of the £36bn saved from HS2 into hundreds of transport projects across the UK, this major upgrade will improve rail journeys, improve connections to jobs and help grow the economy."
Speaking at the Welsh Conservative Conference later that day, Mr Harper said transport is about helping people to move in a way that they want, and emphasised the importance of giving people choices.
He added:
“Labour is about stopping people moving, stopping the United Kingdom moving and slowing things down. They don’t want people to have choices.”
He said Welsh Ministers “want to force drivers out of their cars”, but that they are not providing viable alternatives.
He referred to the “monumental impact” of the Labour Welsh Government’s 20mph default speed limit, which has cost the Welsh Economy £9 billion - “the equivalent of almost £7,000 in costs and lost growth for every single household in Wales”, and said it is an attack on all road users, including bus companies.
He also criticised Welsh Ministers for failing to follow the UK Government’s lead in capping bus fares at £2.
He said:
“Bus fares actually went up in Wales by 6.3%. So, in Wales, Labour don’t want you to drive, they don’t want you to take a bus and on the railways they are holding Wales back. If you take the 25 worst train stations in the UK for cancellations, 20 of them are in Wales. Where we have committed £1 billion of savings from cancelling the second phase of HS2 to electrify the North Wales mainline.
“I had a fantastic meeting this morning with James Davies, David Jones and Robin Millar, three fantastic MPs for this part of Wales, and other cross border stakeholders and business groups and tourism groups, looking at how we are going to deliver that project. Labour in Cardiff Bay say it’s not a priority.”
