Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies has welcomed the Prime Minister's commitment to helping to improve North Wales mainline railway journey times after raising the matter with him in Parliament this week.
In Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions, James highlighted the slow journey times from North Wales to Manchester and said this is preventing people in the region from applying for the many jobs currently available at Manchester Airport.
He said:
"The North Wales mainline railway has had little investment for more than a century. In practice, that means that jobs at Manchester airport are poorly accessible to many of my constituents: they face a two-hour commute, whereas a similar journey in the south-east of the country takes just 45 minutes.
"Will my right hon. Friend ensure that the North Wales line features in the updated rail network enhancements pipeline at the decision-to-develop stage?"
Responding, the Prime Minister said:
"Listen, I am a great enthusiast for this project. We are looking at it, and I can tell my hon. Friend that Network Rail has received funding to carry out feasibility work on improving North Wales mainline journey times. Travellers in North Wales could have no more effective advocate than my hon. Friend."
Speaking afterwards, James, who is Chair of the Mersey Dee North Wales All-Party Parliamentary Group, said:
"Manchester Airport is now hiring for several roles as it continues struggling with staff shortages, but sadly for those living in North Wales these are not easily accessible because of the poor rail links. There are many other examples of employment opportunities to the east which we must ensure are opened up to local people.
"As I have previously stated, transport links between North Wales and Manchester are incredibly important. Indeed, mobile phone data, as acquired by Transport for Wales, demonstrates that in normal times, over a 24 hour period, 153,000 journeys are made between North Wales and North West England. That figure is 20 times higher than the number of journeys from North Wales to other regions of Wales. A large majority of these journeys are currently made by car, largely due to inadequate public transport options.
"This really needs to change, and I welcome the Prime Minister's commitment to helping ensure that the necessary improvements are made. I will continue to campaign on behalf of this vital agenda."
