WORKING FOR SCOTLAND

There are clear signs that the Scottish Government is delivering for Scotland, one example of this took place yesterday when the responsibility for delivering a rail route from the Borders to Edinburgh was been officially passed to Network Rail. Scottish Government Transport Secretary Keith Brown signed the agreement at a ceremony at Newtongrange in Midlothian. The agreement passed responsibility for completing the Borders line, with 30 miles of new track and seven new stations, from Transport Scotland to Network Rail.

Visible progress on the Borders Rail Project

Scottish Government Ministers hope that the £294 million pound project will be completed by the end of 2014, although the contract sets a final deadline of summer 2015. One visible measure of progress is the preparatory work to clear clearing vegetation and removal of buildings and bridges, has already been carried out along the line. Once the project is completed trains return to the Borders for the first time in more than 40 years.

When it comes to the Welsh Government visibly delivering for Wales I struggle to find significant concrete evidence beyond some the transport infrastructure projects brought in by the One Wales Government. Unfortunately for us here in Wales, the Con Dem Westminster Government and the Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff are nominally running the shop. They are not really interested in developing an integrated public transport across the valleys, across the south east and the rest of our country.

Plaid in Monmouth has regularly called for improvements to existing rail services and facilities and a series of feasibility studies to investigate re-opening previously closed railways as has happened in Scotland. In the south east, we need Abergavenny and Chepstow railway stations to be real gateways, with fully integrated local bus services. We need better facilities at Severn Tunnel Junction and Caldicot railway stations and the provision of adequate safe secure parking facilities. We need feasibility studies into the development of a Parkway Station at Little Mill and the possibilities of re-opening the railway line from Little Mill to Usk and the development of a new railway station at Usk.

Driver Training on Gaer Spur in 2009 (Photo: Ian Brewer)

The Welsh Government needs to commit to reopening the final stage of the rail-link from Ebbw Vale to Newport along with new railway stations at Caerleon and Magor which would help to reduce road congestion. Such developments would provide a regular rail service to local residents and reduce the ever increasing traffic burden from already overcrowded roads. The re-opening of Pontrilas Railway station (in south Herefordshire) for passenger traffic (and timber shipments) would also help, as would a feasibility study into developing regional rail freight services, removing heavy Lorries from local roads.

Buying our heads in the sand is not an option, as we face a future where cheap fuel is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. We need to ensure that all our communities have reasonable access to a reliable cheap system of integrated public transport, at the heart of which should be our long neglected rail network. The old excuses about a lack of funding are not acceptable, as even when times were good, there was little evidence of any real commitment or action to improve things here in Wales from Westminster.

A devolutionary half-way house won't work anymore; it will not deliver or even give us the chance to deliver, even with legislative powers. We make up 5% of the population of the UK, and have made (and continue to make) significant contributions to the exchequer.  If Unionists want to the Union to work then we need 5% of the UK transport spend, and full control of our transport planning and our transport budget.

The changes and reforms that are necessary to fix the problems in our country means that we need the tools to do the job. The botched and complicated LCO system for creating legislation barely worked and was consigned to the dustbin of history. The old system did not work with a nominally Labour Government and was never going to work with a Conservative dominated Government which is indifferent to any concept of devolution in particular and the needs of Wales in particular.

Even with legislative powers, we are still in some sort of half devolved limbo state of governance, lacking a fair financial settlement. With all the good wishes in the world this is not going to work well, even with an inert visionless former New Labour government in Cardiff. The governance of Wales if it is to be cost effective can no more be half devolved anymore than someone can be half free.

Wales needs a fair financial settlement so we can finance the construction of a decent system of integrated public transport after years of indifference. In Scotland, significant strides have been made to reopen, redevelop and build a coherent and integrated public transport system. In Wales over the last thirteen years there have been two successful railway re-openings carried out by Network Rail at the request of the National Assembly; the Vale of Glamorgan Railway Line (re-opened on Friday 10th June 2005) and the Ebbw Valley Railway Line (which was partially re-opened on Wednesday 6th February 2008).

Unlike in Scotland there was not real political dynamism at work here, these were administrative rather than legislative projects. In Scotland things were different, bills to reopen old railways were vigorously discussed, debated, scrutinised, amended and duly passed by the Scottish Parliament. If we are serious about integrated public transport then we are going to have to get serious about how we are going to develop and redevelop our public transport infrastructure.

The Transport (Wales) Act (effective from February 2006) gave the National Assembly the power to plan and co-ordinate an integrated transport system, how much longer do we have to wait to see some vision let alone any action? Meanwhile the rail companies are busy ramping up rail fares, and trying to reduce services, all with the tacit co-operation of Westminster Government (of various political hues) and the Department for transport.

Such blatant duplicity is not acceptable - it’s time for our government in Cardiff to take the long view and actually put its money where its mouth. The Welsh Government in Cardiff needs to work to redevelop our rail services, boost the development of rail freight and to co-ordinate rail and bus services – because Westminster even with a Labour Government will not deliver for Wales.

Wales needs to have full control of its transport policy and transport budget devolved as quickly as possible and the franchise when it is renewed in 2017 should be run on a not for profit basis.  The time for excuses has passed, ending years of neglect and indifference to our needs won’t be cheap and it won’t be easy as there is no quick fix.

We need to plan for our future but it can be done if the political will is there, as has happened in Scotland. Much can be accomplished by a combination of the will, the funding and interested private and community partners. If the Governments in London and Cardiff are really serious about cutting carbon emissions, reducing road congestion and building sustainable communities then they need to work to get people and heavy goods back onto our railways and revitalise our communities.

THE TIME FOR EXCUSES IS PAST...

When it comes to railways in Wales, we tend to focus on anniversaries of rail closures rather than anniversaries of openings. This may well be because transport policy was something that was done to us rather than done for us. I mention this, because I noticed that a plaque has been unveiled marking the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the railway in Knighton (Powys).

The spectaular 22-mile section of the Heart of Wales line from Craven Arms, Shropshire, to Knighton was constructed in 1861, and manged to avoid being closed in the 1950's and 1960's.  A £5m project which upgraded parts of this rural railway was finished last year, reinstating five passing loops at Knighton, Llandrindod Wells and Llanwrtyd Wells in Powys, and at Llandovery and Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire. This is a small but positive step which could, with extra services lead to more regular and better used trains.

The Con Dem Westminster Government and the New Labour Government in Cardiff need to get serious about developing integrated public transport across the valleys and the south east in Monmouth constituency and beyond. For more than a few years Plaid in Monmouth has called for improvements to existing services and facilities and a series of feasibility studies to investigate re-opening previously closed railways as has happened in Scotland.

We face a future where cheap fuel will be a thing of the past, so we need to ensure that all our communities have reasonable access to a reliable cheap system of integrated public transport, at the heart of which needs to be our long neglected rail network. The old excuses about a lack of funding (despite the banking related financial crisis) are no longer acceptable; Wales making up 5% of the population of the UK, and makes significant contributions to the exchequer over the years - so we need 5% of the UK transport spend, and full control of our transport planning and our transport budget.

A devolutionary half-way house won't work anymore, it will not deliver or even give us the chance to deliver, even with legislative powers. The changes and reforms that are necessary to fix the problems in our country means that we need the tools to do the job. The botched and over complicated LCO system for creating legislation barely worked and has thankfully been consigned to the dustbin of history.

It didn't work with a nominally Labour Government and was never going to work with a Conservative dominated Government which is indifferent to any concept of devolution in particular and the needs of Wales in particular. Even with legislative powers, we are still in some sort of half devolved limbo state of governance, lacking a fair financial settlement. Let's be honest, with all the best will in the world this is not going to work well, even with an inert visionless New Labour government in Cardiff. Governance can no more be half devolved anymore than someone can be half free.

Wales needs a fair financial settlement so we can construct a decent system of integrated public transport. This is what has happened in Scotland, where significant strides have been made to reopen, redevelop and build a coherent and integrated public transport system. In the last twelve years in Wales there have been two successful railway re-openings carried out by Network Rail at the request of the National Assembly; the Vale of Glamorgan Railway Line (re-opened on Friday 10th June 2005) and the Ebbw Valley Railway Line (partially re-opened on Wednesday 6th February 2008).

Being brutally honest these were administrative rather than legislative projects, this has not been thye case in Scotland, where bills to reopen old railways were vigorously debated, scrutinised, amended and passed by the Scottish Parliament. If we are serious about integrated public transport then we are going to have to get serious about how we are going to develop and redevelop our public transport infrastructure.

The Transport (Wales) Act which came into effect in February 2006 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 vision? In the meantime the rail companies have been busy ramping up rail fares, attempting to reduce rail services, all with the tacit co-operation of the Westminster Labour Government 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.

In the south east , we need Abergavenny and Chepstow railway stations to be real gateways, with fully integrated local bus services. We need better facilities at Severn Tunnel Junction and Caldicot railway stations and the provision of adequate safe secure parking facilities. We need feasibility studies into the development of a Parkway Station at Little Mill and the possibilities of re-opening the railway line from Little Mill to Usk and the development of a new railway station at Usk.

The final stage of the rail-link from Ebbw Vale to Newport needs to be completed and railway stations at Caerleon and Magor would help to reduce road congestion. Such developments would provide a regular rail service to local residents and reduce the ever increasing traffic burden from already overcrowded roads. The re-opening of Pontrilas Railway station (in south Herefordshire) for passenger traffic (and timber shipments) would also help, as would a feasibility study into developing regional rail freight services, removing heavy Lorries from local roads.

If the Governments in London and Cardiff are really serious about cutting carbon emissions and reducing road congestion then we need work to get heavy goods back onto our railways. There is no quick fix, but, the time for excuses is over, we need to plan for the future. This may not be cheap but it can be done if the political will is there, as has happened in Scotland, where there is a useful combination of the will, the funding and interested private partners.

ROADS AND BRIDGES AND RAIL FREIGHT

News that the residents concerns about the noise and pollution levels caused by HGV's vehicles (on the A472) taking a short cut through the centre of Usk, while being of importance are nothing new. As a Trainee journalist on the Pontypool Free Press, I can recall this problem was a contentious issue in the late 1980's. Gwent Police, Monmouthshire council (the nominal successor to Gwent County Council in Usk at least) and Usk town council are still trying to resolve this problem.

I also remember that in the late 1980's a by-pass was offered by developers, controversially linked to proposed plans to build large amounts of housing in and around the town. This proposed development caused some controversy and headlines and letters in the Free Press at least at the time, but, nothing (and rightly so in my opinion)came of it.

The problem has not gone away, it's even worse than it used to be, as over the last twenty years the HGV's have got larger and far more frequent and damage is being done to Usk (and the river bridge) not to mention the increase in noise and pollution in the town, which affects residents, something that will also help to deter visitors to the town. The current 7.5 tonnes weight limit warmings which are being regularly flouted and any resultant fines are not working.

Most people know that there are periodic exceptions to the weight limit and the road traffic orders restricting weight limits are difficult to enforce. The short cut through Usk (from the A449) avoids using the A40 from Raglan to Abergavenny and the A4042 which has well known traffic related problems of its own, to save a few miles. The use of Sat-navs also causes problems by directing lorries through the town
rather than alternative routes.

The issue continues to rightly generate more than reasonable concerns amongst the residents of Usk, there have been recent and not so recent public meetings to address public concerns about the bridge and air pollution in the town. A number of different solutions have been proposed over the years, but, in truth nothing has been done to solve the problem.

The bad news is with the UK Government looking to make significant savings to its capital expenditure programme (which will be passed on down the line to the National Assembly in Cardiff and our local authorities) any suggestion of a by-pass will be a non starter. Even over the short term, with extra police patrols and road blocks may not necessarily survive the cost cutting that's going to descend upon Gwent Police (and the other forces in Wales).

There are not quick fixes, and no easy answers, one thing we need to do is get freight back onto rail and off our roads, far too much freight is being moved long distances by HGV's along roads which are entirely unsuitable for such volumes of traffic. This is one side effect of the wholesale butchery of our rail network in the 1950's and 1960's.

If Government in both London and Cardiff is really serious about cutting carbon emissions and reducing road congestion then much more emphasis on getting heavy goods back onto our railways, Now lets be honest this is not a quick fix and it may not be cheap but it can be done if the political will is there, as has happened in Scotland, where there is a useful combination of the will, the funding and interested private partners.

EBBW VALE NEWPORT RAIL LINK

South Gwent's Labour AM's and the Con Dem Council Group in Newport have had a pop at Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, Deputy First Minister and Minister of Transport over the on-going delays to the completion of the much called for rail-link between Ebbw Vale and Newport. The delays to the completion of the rail project have been aggravated by a combination of possible cuts to the Network Rail budget and almost certain cuts to the National Assembly budget.

While the delays are unacceptable and the project needs to be completed as quickly as possible it is a tad rich for local Labour AM's to try to make hay be blaming Plaid when they are part of a Labour - Plaid coalition Government. No doubt working on the assumption that no one will notice. It is also worth noting that the Plaid - Labour coalition has been in existence since 2007, why was the project not finished before? when there was a Labour Government in power in Westminster?

There is a certain kind of low politics which the less able indulge in, which revolves around cheap shots, so you can understand why the Labour AM's are having a pop. However, it's pretty rich for the Con Dem (Tory - Lib Dem) Council to have a go, especially when their Government in Westminster is about to embark on a series of public sector spending cuts which will amongst other things hack the hell out of public services, not to mention lead to the cancellation of many infrastructure projects  including the planned electrification of the mainline from Swansea to London and seriously cut the Network Rail budget into the bargain. 

THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST!

With the Con Dem Government actively preparing to hack the public sector budget to hell and back - something that will inevitably damage front line public services and effectively punish the many for the reckless greed driven misdeeds of the few - we are all waiting for the cuts to start. When the cuts begin to bite we may find ourselves in wholly brand new territory, with a Conservative (in action if not name) Government (despite the presence of Lib Dem office seekers), seriously considering reducing the Police budget and cutting Police (both uniformed and civilian support staff) numbers whilst trying to deal with the crime related effects of the recession. 

Now this is something that even Mrs Thatcher in her more lucid moments (and she had some), well before she went mad towards the end of her tenure as PM never even considered doing for a moment. Mr’s T at the start of her destructive and divisive period in office made sure that she raised Police pay (and improved conditions) – something which won her a combination of tacit approval, tacit support or at least a degree of passivity from the Police service, which had been neglected under the previous struggling Labour Government – during who's tenure in office there had been an erosion of police pay and working conditions.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, speaking at an annual lecture to the Police Federation, made the comparison between the poor record on organised crime and the good progress made in countering terrorism. He went on to say that the Police Service's response to organised crime has been "uncoordinated" and "inadequate". He went on to say that there were 60,000 organised groups, comprising 38,000 criminals and warned that cuts and elected police chiefs could further erode the capability to target these groups. He said that organised crime cost the UK at least £40 billion a year but combating it was not a priority for chief constables, with only about 11% of organised criminals were being actively targeted.

Food for thought - yet faced with paying for New Labour’s reckless spending, the ongoing financial legacy of Blair's wars, bailing out the banks, replacing Trident (an essential prop of Britain is to stride the world stage clinging on to the pretensions of being a World power), etc - the new Government finds itself just a s skint as Gordon's lot were. Is it just me or do people find it a tad odd how they can always manage to find money for their wars, their banks and other things when they need to? 

So a few months in despite the best efforts at spin, David (“Call me Dave”) Cameron's Con Dem Government has brought itself to what can best be described as their budgetary Rubicon moment - 'To cut or not to cut and how deep?' So here we are with serious consideration being given to reducing Police numbers and cutting back on operational policing and the myriad of police support workers who fulfil a hundred routine (and not so routine) tasks behind the front line? That's one way to make our communities suffer as the cuts begin to bite...

A MATTER OF SPENDING PRIORITIES?

The BBC has revealed that the Westminster Governments figure show that the cost of the fighting and the reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan has passed the £20 billion mark. Some £18m has been spent on military operations, and that's on-top of the ordinary defence budget, and some hundreds of millions has been spent on aid and security for UK officials in Irag and Afghanistan.

This, however, is not the final total as the £20 billion figure does not include troops' salaries or care for the wounded, which is expected to be much higher. Some critics have questioned why the UK was spending so much on conflict when the UK's public finances were in a dire state.

Now that's a good question...I wonder who's is going to answer it?