GETTING WALES MOVING

We need to improve rail services across Wales, planning to integrate bus and rail timetables and introduce new light rail networks, combined with active travel proposals, to keep Wales moving. Plaid Cymru has put forward a realisticvision of the future of Wales’ transport infrastructure, which includes investing in new light rail networks, community rail and safe walking and cycling routes. We also need to ensure that our public transport networks are fully integrated, so that it is as easy as possible for people to use it in their daily lives.

Lets be honest about the fact that when it comes down the revitalising of our railways (a vital part of our transport infrastructure) Wales comes of second best in comparison with Scotland and parts of England. Part of the reason comes down to the poor devolutionary settlement which failed to give Wales adequate powers in relation to infrastructure developments and part of it relates to a simple lack of will on the part of the recent Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff.  

A strong transport network is obviously particularly important in rural communities, which is why Plaid Cymru wants to create a fully integrated public transport network. It is worth noting that back February 2006,The Transport (Wales) Act, which came into effect, this gave the National Assembly powers to plan and co-ordinate an integrated transport system.

How much longer do we have to wait to see some real vision and action rather than words? In the absence of any real leadership from Cardiff Bay and Westminster the rail companies have continued to ramp up rail fares, attempting to reduce rail services, all with the tacit co-operation of successive Westminster Government's (regardless of their political hue) and the Department for transport (in London). 

Such duplicity has never been acceptable - it’s time for our government in Cardiff to take the long term view, to bite the bullet and actually put its money where its mouth is and work to redevelop our rail services, boost the development of rail freight and to co-ordinate rail and bus services across the whole of Wales. To do this effectively Wales needs to have full control of it's transport policy and transport budget devolved as quickly as possible and the franchise when it is renewed in 2017 needs to be run on a not for profit basis. 

The Party of Wales supports public ownership over the railway and we will continue to seek unrestricted control over awarding future rail franchises. When Plaid Cymru was in government we made investing in infrastructure a priority, and Wales continues to feel the benefit of this investment. We are ready to continue with this project, and invest in rail, road and digital infrastructure right across Wales.

In Monmouth constituency we need to ensure that our railway stations have more frequent stopping services and have safe, secure and reasonably priced park and ride facilities at Abergavenny, Severn Tunnel and Chepstow. New railway stations at Llanwern and Magor and at Caerleon / Ponthir would do much to cut congestion.

Our bus services need to be fully integrated with our rail services and our railway stations should be fully accessible with easy access to services for all passengers. The National Assembly should commit to redevelop and expand our rail services, as has happened in Scotland and some parts of England. Personally I would work for feasibility studies into a new station near Little Mill / Penperlleni and into the reopening of the line to Usk and the construction of a new station west of the town.

NO AMBITION AND NO VISION!

Politicians and governments are often condemned for their lack of ambition or their lack of the vision thing, but, somewhat more rarely are they condemned for lacking both the vision and the ambition. Yet both the Welsh and UK Governments have displayed a craven lack of ambition and pretty much a complete lack of vision when it comes to developing Wales' railway network.

Both Westminster and Cardiff have failed to take advantage of existing and new EU funding programmes which are available to improve and develop our railways. So rather than seizing the initiative to invest in and improve our railway infrastructure both Governments have sat on their hands and allowed potential funding opportunities to pass them by.

Almost by accident rather than by design, one might think, some of the powers needed to develop and develop our railway system are already possessed by the National Assembly. The Transport (Wales) Act came into effect in February 2006 and gave the National Assembly powers to plan and co-ordinate an integrated transport system, so how much longer do we have to wait to see some vision?”

We need to develop the long term view and invest in our rail services; we need to further develop rail freight and co-ordinate rail and bus services across the whole of Wales and we need to have full control of its transport policy, transport budget and the related planning regulations. There is considerable room for improvement when it comes to the provision and development of our railway services here in Wales.

When the franchise is renewed in 2018 the railways in Wales should be run on a not for dividend profit basis, with all profits accrued being ring fenced and reinvested into our railways. The healthy profits run up during the period when the East Coast mainline serve has been run by the Westminster Government after the collapse of the private franchise shows what could and should be achieved here in Wales.  

DANCING IN CARDIFF BAY?

There is an old saying, he who pays the pier calls the tune? That said, it is worth remembering that it was the Labour in Wales government in Cardiff, not the Con Dems in Westminster, that chose to reduce investment its capital investment in railways from £37 million (2013) to £12 million (2014-15) – incidentally this £16 million pound saving would not even pay 10% of the provisional costs of the Heads of the Valleys road scheme let alone make a dent in the interest payments on any loans used to pay for the proposed M4 Relief Road.

Now it would be easy to suggest that Labour in Wales’s decision is literally be a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul as the budget won’t stretch to paying for everything. Limited budgets aside for the moment, this was still a bad decision, one that does little to build (or rebuild) our fragmented public transport system. The underlying problem is that rail investment is not yet devolved and the real decisions about significant infrastructure investment in Wales are still being made in Westminster and Whitehall.

So obviously when looking at transport infrastructure spending and development with a London centric perspective (which no doubt continues to hold sway in some of the darker reaches of the civil service here in Wales) tends to ensure that smaller projects that could have a significant impact here in Wales tend to drop down the long list of priorities. This lack of budgetary authority is something that directly interferes with our ability to choose the most cost effective transport option.

Full budgetary authority for transport in Wales needs to be devolved to the Welsh Government because the combination of spilt budgetary authority (between Cardiff and London) and the ineffective arms length relationship between the Welsh Government and Network Rail is not addressing our countries transport needs. Now the lack of budgetary authority is only part of the problem. It is worth remembering that the Transport (Wales) Act (which was effective from February 2006) gave the National Assembly the power to plan and co-ordinate an integrated transport system.

Now this may not sit well with what appears to be an old style Welsh Office inspired civil service that may still be thinking in London centric terms having failed to grasp the concept of devolution. That aside, the real problem is the almost total lack of any vision on the part of the Labour in Wales government, which like various other Labour groups across our country is more concerned with being there than doing anything.

Even the most passive observer of the hitherto inert Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff should not be surprised to see that road has been chosen over rail in relation to transport priorities. This largely passive but not mostly harmless government has shelved several rail schemes that could make a real difference to people’s lives and deliver value for money in favour of questionable expensive road schemes that won’t deliver much to our communities let alone value for money.

Back in January (2013) the Welsh Government released figures that show that it intended to spend around £805 million pounds on finishing off the Heads of the Valleys Road (something that has been on the drawing board by my reckoning since 1958) by 2020. Now they are salivating at the prospect of additional financial powers even if part of the price may be a commitment to construct an excessively expensive M4 Relief road with dubious economic benefits and a significant price tag – I wonder whatever happened to value for money?

REDEFINING INERTIA?

Inertia can be defined as the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest, or the tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion (see Labour in Wales Government).

How to redefine inertia?

Even the most passive observer of the hitherto inert Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff should not be surprised to see that road has been chosen over rail in relation to transport priorities. This largely passive if not mostly harmless government has shelved several rail schemes that could make a real difference to people’s lives and deliver value for money in favour of questionable expensive road schemes that won’t deliver much to our communities let alone value for money. 

Road over Rail?

Back in January (2013) the Welsh Government released figures that show that it intends to spend around £805 million pounds on finishing off the Heads of the Valleys Road (something that has been on the drawing board by my reckoning since 1958) by 2020. The Western Mail (28th February 2013) revealed that the road scheme will provide scant benefits for our economy and that seven far more beneficial rail schemes may have been quietly sidelined: 

·      Aberystwyth (Bow Street): new station outside the town with car parking (estimated cost between £1.5 and £2 million (2011)).This would provide a welcome boost to commutes into and out of Aberystwyth and reduce road congestion.

·     Abertillery: new station and 1.5 miles of new track to link Abertillery to Ebbw Vale line at Llanhilleth (estimated cost £16.7 million (2012)). This would provide a key rail link for Abertillery to Cardiff (and eventually to Newport).

·    Bridgend: new station at Brackla, upgraded track and signals at Tondu (estimated cost £12 million (2005)). This means that the train service from Maesteg to Cardiff could run every 30 minutes.

·     Ebbw Vale: extra tracks and new Ebbw Vale town station (estimated cost £32 million (2012)). This means that train services could run from much closer to the town centre and could lead to further development work at Ebbw Vale Parkway, with trains running every hour from Ebbw Vale to Newport (subject to further work outside Newport) in addition to the existing service between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff.

·      Llantrisant: new railway line (on old track) and new stations at St Fagans, Talbot Green, Llantrisant, Gwaun Meisgyn and Beddau (estimated cost £37 million pounds (2011)). This could provide a rail service into Cardiff. 

·        Nelson: new stations at Nelson, Trelewis and Bedlinog (estimated cost £7.9 million (2011)). This could boost rail services into Caerphilly and Cardiff.

·      Newport and South Monmouthshire: new station at Llanwern, extra parking at Chepstow and extra parking (and road link to M48) at Severn Tunnel Junction (estimated cost £43 million (2011)).  This could help provide trains from Chepstow into Cardiff every 30 minutes and cut congestion on the roads.

More locally, back in 2005, the Welsh Government promised to deliver phase 2 of the Ebbw Vale rail project, with direct trains from Ebbw Vale to Newport and an extension of the line towards Ebbw Vale and Abertillery by 2009.  Some four years down the line, so to speak we are still waiting and it looks like we may wait a long time before anything gets done.

The end of the line for the moment?

Our own government, not the Con Dems in Westminster, has chosen to reduce investment its capital investment in railways from £37 million (2013) to £12 million (2014-15) this £16 million pound saving would not even pay 10% of the provisional costs of the Heads of the Valleys road scheme.  Now it would be easy to suggest that Labour in Wales’s decision is literally be a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul as the budget won’t stretch to paying for everything. Limited budgets aside for the moment, this is still a bad decision, one that does little to build (or rebuild) our fragmented public transport system.

The underlying problem is that rail investment is not yet devolved and the real decisions about significant infrastructure investment in Wales are still being made in Westminster and Whitehall. So obviously when looking at transport infrastructure spending and development with a London centric perspective tends to ensure that smaller projects that could have a significant impact here in Wales tend to drop down the long list of priorities.

This lack of budgetary authority is something that directly interferes with our ability to choose the most cost effective transport option. Full budgetary authority for transport in Wales needs to be devolved to the Welsh Government because the combination of spilt budgetary authority (between Cardiff and London) and the ineffective arms length relationship between the Welsh Government and Network Rail is not addressing our countries transport needs.

Now the lack of budgetary authority is only part of the problem. It is worth remembering that the Transport (Wales) Act (which was effective from February 2006) gave the National Assembly the power to plan and co-ordinate an integrated transport system. Now this may not sit well with what appears to be an old style Welsh Office inspired civil service that may still be thinking in London centric terms having failed to grasp the concept of devolution. That aside, the real problem is the almost total lack of any vision on the part of the Labour in Wales government, which like various other Labour groups across our country is more concerned with being there than doing anything.