A GHOST TRAIN?

Occasionally if you look very quickly on Newport Station, you may see the platform indicators flagging up an Ebbw Vale bound train. This may be the closest many rail passengers will come to seeing a ghost train. Despite regularly oft-repeated promises from the Labour in Wales government in Cardiff and more locally elected Labour in Newport representatives, there is no sign any time soon of a permanent rail connection between Ebbw Vale and Newport.

Nothing to see here... move along...

Since the Ebbw railway line reopened in 2008 and the new rail service failed to connect to Newport and the rest of the south east a variety of lame excuses have been offered which barely conceal that fact that the Welsh Government has been dragging its feet. Ironically periodic upgrades to track and signals in and around the Cardiff area meant that services do actually occasionally start and terminate at Newport.

The failure to connect the Ebbw vale line to Newport meant that commuters who live in the communities in the Ebbw valley are unable to travel directly to Newport by train and have little choice but to use their cars. They have been denied the opportunity of catching connecting trains to Bristol, Cheltenham, and beyond as well as travelling slightly more rapidly to Cardiff in the morning and back again in the evening.

This was simply a bad short sighted decision that resulted in commuters having little choice but to choose to drive to work. This lack of an easily accessible alternative helped to feed congestion on the M4. If we are lucky at some as yet undetermined future date the Ebbw vale link may actually begin to benefit those commuters who daily travel east to and from work.

What seems to be missing here in Wales is any real element of reopening old (or building new) railways as has happened in Scotland. In Wales in the last seventeen 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 (which re-opened on Friday 10th June 2005) and the Ebbw Valley Railway Line (which partially re-opened on Wednesday 6th February 2008).

The reality was that these were largely administrative rather than legislative projects, and but for the existence of the National Assembly it is unlikely that they would have been hauled up from where they lingered on Network Rails’ priority list.  The National Assembly, has been (with a few exceptions) been pretty muted when it comes to making the case for rail.

This has certainly not been the case in Scotland, where bills to reopen old railways have been 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 if not the political will to plan and co-ordinate an integrated transport system. How much longer do we have to wait to see some vision? And some action?

In the meantime the largely non UK owned rail companies have been busy ramping up rail fares and quietly attempting to reduce rail services (they have been thwarted in the later endeavour by some well organised local pressure groups in the case of Severn Tunnel and Chepstow in South East Gwent). All of these things have been done with the tacit co-operation of various Westminster and Welsh Governments and the Department for Transport (in London).

Such duplicity can never been acceptable – it would be nice if the government in Cardiff woke from its self induced slumbers and took the long term view, 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 its transport policy and transport budget devolved as quickly as possible and the franchise when it is renewed in 2017/2018 needs to be run on a not for profit basis.

The creation of a not-for-distributable-profit organisation to run Welsh railways is vital; profits would be available to invest in rail services. This could mean more frequent services in the South Wales valleys, more frequent journeys to West Wales and on the Cambrian line, as well as additional services between the north and south of Wales.

A Newport bound train from Ebbw Vale surely not?

This could also mean more investment in new rolling stock to help keep pace with increasing passenger demand.  Now, the clock is ticking as most of the preparatory work for the re-franchising needs to be undertaken during the current National Assembly term, so that a delivery model that is better suited to the needs of the people in Wales rather than the foreign state-owned railway shareholders dividend can be developed. 

Here in the south east, Abergavenny, Caldicot, Chepstow and Severn Tunnel railway stations should be real local transport hubs, with fully integrated local bus services. Better facilities for passengers are needed and the provision of adequate safe secure parking facilities is urgently required.

A 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 west of the town of Usk would benefit local commuters and rail travellers and reduce congestion. The re-opening of Pontrilas Railway station (in south Herefordshire) for passenger traffic and timber shipments would also help. As would a realistically scoped feasibility study into developing regional rail freight services, removing heavy Lorries from local roads. 

Such developments would provide a regular rail service to local residents and reduce the ever-increasing traffic burden from already overcrowded roads. One real local priority is the completion of the final stage of the rail-link from Ebbw Vale to Newport needs to be completed and railway stations at Caerleon (which has been in the UDB since 1986), it should not be a case of a station at Llanwern or Magor it must be both as they would all help to reduce road congestion.

THE PROBLEM

It was the Wrecsam Plaid blog entry the other day on Labour in Wales’s belated support for Welsh farmers that got me thinking. Perhaps the reason for this failure to step in to support our farmers (after a particularly bad winter) may be down to a combination of poor advice from civil servants to ministers, or a marked indifference towards agriculture. The later is something that has been manifest in recent decades at various levels of government in the UK. These may all be reasons for the blatant neglect and belated support but I think that the real reason is because Labour in Wales (and its various elected representatives) have a real problem with other parts of Wales that fall outside what they perceive to be their home turf.

The real reason may well be down to a quiet disbelief in the very concept of Cymru / Wales, let alone devolution. Over the years (reluctantly at times) Labour in Wales (and some of its elected representatives) have talked the talk and walked (more stumbled) the walk with the rhetoric of devolution. They have talked up their own frenzied inertia with devolution into what they describe as ‘standing up for Wales’. It sounds good, but, actually delivers little for our country and our people, something that accurately matches Labour in Westminster (and Wales) record of delivering for Wales.

The Labour Party (formerly known New Labour) in Westminster (and Cymru / Wales) are quietly hoping that people will forget the terrible mess they created when they were in power at Westminster and the cuts they would have implemented had they not been battered by the electorate. New (and Old) Labour were pretty good on sound-bites but short on delivery, Harold Wilson, once talked about "The white heat of the technological revolution" (October 1st 1963). Yet once the dust had settled after six years of Labour Government very little changed and very little was delivered as vested interests in the Labour Movement thwarted any real economic reform.

As for delivering for Cymru / Wales, it took the best part of 11 of the 13 years in office at Westminster before Labour in Wales woke up to the concept of electrifying the Great Western from Swansea to London, and then reluctantly. It was only after Plaid (and Ieuan Wyn Jones) put them in a situation where they had no other option to commit as originally they planned to electrify the Great Western from Bristol to London - perhaps they hoped that no one in Wales would not notice (as per the subsidy for the Humber bridge). 

So  three years down the line from losing office, after 13 years in power the Labour Party in Westminster (at least) is now wallowing in its comfort zone, safely out of office at Westminster, safely free from responsibility, they are enjoying what they love to do best – attacking the Tories. Faced by any election (in Cymru / Wales) they will talk up the Tory threat (as well practised by Peter Hain) – this is Labour in Wales's bottom line and works along the line of if you tell a simple big enough lie often enough then people will eventually believe it. 

At one very basic level, from their point of view why not? There is certainly plenty to attack the Tories (and their Liberal Democrat little helpers) for, especially when it comes to our public services and our economy. But do Labour (New or Old or whatever they choose to call themselves) actually have any real credibility when it comes to attacking the Tories on these issues?

There is a long history of the Labour sound-bite, Harold Wilson said in his 1961 Labour Party Conference speech "The Labour Party is a moral crusade or it is nothing". It seems that the answer is that it is nothing. More recently Tony Blair (a man who could perhaps have been said to come within 45 minutes of finding his principles) said "It is not an arrogant government that chooses priorities, it's an irresponsible government that fails to choose". Yet they consistently failed to choose to act to make Wales better and consistently put Party interest before principle and the interests of our people. 

If I was being kind, then certainly the party formerly known as New Labour's recent history is marked by a series of opportunities wasted by Labour in government. There is a pretty long list of things (large and small) that they could have done, that they were supposed to fight for, but chose not to. They have displayed a bigger and more public commitment to ‘Fair funding for Wales’ since being out of office (at Westminster) than they ever displayed when they were last in office (at Westminster). 

As far as we in Wales are concerned, they are those 'friends' who are never around when you actually need them. Labour was the friend that the people of Wales turned to for the best part of one hundred years when faced with economic and political adversity. Through strikes, recession, the Thatcher and Major years the people sought comfort from their natural political home and got scant reward for it during the 13 years of Labour Government. The problem has been that Labour since the 1920’s (with the exception of the 1940’s) has been more concerned with keeping its collective nose in the trough than anything else.

New Labour did nothing to curb the irresponsibility of the bankers and little to support our manufacturing industry and small to medium sized businesses, that are (and should be) the lifeblood of much of the Welsh economy. When presented with the opportunity (and Westminster majority) to implement real and lasting improvements to the lives of its loyal supporters, New Labour offered warm words, but was never there when we really needed them. When they actually had the power to deliver for the Welsh people, we should remember that they made the decision not to. 

A CASE OF YES AND NO...

As elements of it directly affect Wales and as far as it goes, I cautiously welcome the new Network Rail modernisation programme which was announced last Tuesday. The electrification of the Great Western line from Swansea to London is the commitment to extend electrification to some of the Valley lines into Cardiff. Some £ 350 million pounds worth of investment has been allocated to electrify the Valley lines into Cardiff.

I have serious concerns about the apparent exclusion of the final stage of the Ebbw Vale line into Abertillery and into Newport from the plan and the timescale. The Network Rail plan suggests that even its somewhat limited Valley lines electrification programme will not be completed until around 2020. From an economic point of view it would make more sense to commence work on the Valley lines electrification programme as soon as practically possible.

What missing as far as I can see is any real element of reopening old (or building new) railways as has happened in Scotland. In Wales in the last thirteen and half 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 (partially re-opened on Wednesday 6th February 2008).

These were administrative rather than legislative projects, and but for the existence of the National Assembly it is unlikely that they would have been hauled up from where they lingered on Network Rails’ priority list.  The National Assembly, has been (with a few exceptions) been pretty muted when it comes to making the case for rail. This has not been the case in Scotland, where bills to reopen old railways have been 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 (if not the political will) 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 continuing to ramp up rail fares and attempting to reduce rail services (they have been thwarted in the later endeavour by some well organised local pressure groups in the case of Severn Tunnel and Chepstow in South East Gwent). All of these things have been done with the tacit co-operation of various Westminster Governments and the Department for Transport (in London).

Such duplicity has never been acceptable – it would be nice if the government in Cardiff woke from its self induced slumbers and took the long term view, 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 its 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 creation of a not-for-distributable-profit organisation to run Welsh railways is vital; profits would be available to invest in rail services. This could mean more frequent services in the South Wales valleys, more frequent journeys to West Wales and on the Cambrian line, as well as additional services between the north and south of Wales. This could also mean more investment in new rolling stock to help keep pace with increasing passenger demand.  Now, the clock is ticking as most of the preparatory work for the re-franchising needs to be undertaken during the current Assembly term, so that a delivery model that is better suited to the needs of the people in Wales rather than the shareholders dividend can be developed.

Here in the south east, Abergavenny, Caldicot, Chepstow and Severn Tunnel railway stations should be real local transport hubs, with fully integrated local bus services. Better facilities for passengers are needed and the provision of adequate safe secure parking facilities is urgently required. A 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 west of the town of Usk would benefit local commuters and rail travellers and reduce congestion.

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. Such developments would provide a regular rail service to local residents and reduce the ever increasing traffic burden from already overcrowded roads. One real local priority is the completion of the final stage of the rail-link from Ebbw Vale to Newport needs to be completed and railway stations at Caerleon, Llanwern and Magor would all help to reduce road congestion.

MOVING WALES FORWARD?

In true Westminster tradition, unless you actually knew what the bill contained, something you won’t necessarily get from its name, you might have been at loss about the significance of the Grocery Code Adjudicator Bill. While this bill is part of a fairly dull and unambitious mid term programme of legislation, much of which is, at first glace, irrelevant to Wales, as with many things, the devil is in the detail, as noted by Devolution Matters.

The Grocery Code Adjudicator Bill, which was an idea originally suggested by Plaid Cymru back in 2004, with its provision for an ombudsman, should benefit the thousands of people working within the agricultural sector. While this is an excellent if fairly belated idea, the ombudsman will only work if the Bill ensures that said Ombudsman has some real powers over the milk industry.

Plaid Cymru's parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd MP has responded to the Queen's Speech by expressing disappointment at the lack of ideas to boost the Welsh economy, despite the inclusion of some welcome legislation such as a Grocery Code Adjudicator Bill and a Green Investment Bank Bill.

Speaking shortly after the State Opening of Parliament, Mr Llwyd said:

"While the Queen's Speech contained some measures that Plaid Cymru welcome, it is disappointing to see that Wales has yet again been largely overlooked.

"The Grocery Code Adjudicator Bill, an idea first suggested by Plaid Cymru back in 2004, will benefit the thousands of people working within the agricultural sector, but it's vital that this ombudsman has real teeth, including powers over the milk industry, in order to deliver positive change.

"The Green Investment Bank is also good news, but if it is to transform the green economy, it will require significant financial backing, not just fine words. The same is true of banking reform proposals which should take place as soon as possible.

"There were, however, some very concerning suggestions in the Queen's Speech, and we are very worried in particular about the Public Sector Pensions Reform Bill and proposals to reduce employee's rights at work.
"It is also very disappointing not to see any proposals relating to matters that would truly transform Wales' economy, environment and transport infrastructure.

"These include the devolution of consent over energy generating powers, a JobCentrePlus for Wales, the creation of a Welsh legal jurisdiction, and a bill to electrify the railways in Wales - all progressive proposals that would move Wales forward and ensure that our nation isn't left lagging behind the rest of the UK."

The Con Dem Government’s Draft Water Bill which aims to allow every business and public sector body in England and Wales to switch their water and sewerage supplier, yet makes no provision to bring in water meters for households. Both the RSPB and WWF-UK are reportedly disappointed that measures to reduce waste by domestic users were missing. I mention water meters because they would save most members of the public money, but, of course such a course of action would impinge on company profits and shareholder dividends (at least in England).

Water in Wales is likely to remain an understandably touchy subject for the foreseeable future, one no doubt that Labour in Wales whole heartily wish would go away. It is worth noting that the Government of Wales Act (passed by a Labour Government) specifically excludes the National Assembly from making any laws relating to water supply. One very firm bottom line has to be that our water resources should belong to the Welsh people, not to Private corporations or to the UK Government.

TIME FOR SOME CELTIC FRINGE BENEFITS?

If the Unionists want the Union to work then one of the bottom lines has to be fair funding for Wales, we have been net contributors to the central coffers for a few hundred years. The Westminster Government brought in the Beeching rail cuts that decimated the railway network in Wales (thanks for that by the way – that really helped!). Since Beeching we have had an ill-thought out rail privatisation that has not helped when it comes to an integrated rail service.

Since the devolution process began Westminster has retained control of main line rail development, including any proposed electrification of railway lines here in Wales. Its worth noting that the main line from Glasgow to London was electrified in 1974, yet we don’t have a single mile of public electrified railway in Wales. This makes us a member of a fairly grim if exclusive club of European countries that have no electrified railways – the other members being Albania and Moldova.

If we are lucky we might get a bit, as the current plans for electrification of the Great Western Line (which originally intended to stop at Bristol) have been extended to Cardiff (belatedly the last Labour Government extended this to Swansea) before the Con Dems cut back the plan so the line will only be electrified to Cardiff. While this is better than nothing it stills means that main line rail electrification in Wales will remain pretty token, especially as there are currently no plans to electrify the line to Swansea, Carmarthen and further west.

The recent announcement that the Westminster Government plans to push on with the HS2 plan to connect London and Birmingham, with potentially further options for additional connections to Leeds and Manchester (and even Heathrow) is good news for rail users, even if by the time the plans come to fruition most of us will be unable to afford to let the train take the strain. The HS2 is a tidy £33 billion investment in England with scant measurable benefit for Wales, a bit like the Olympic Games even though it is a project that primarily benefits England there should be a ‘Barnett consequential benefit for Wales.

This could mean if fairly applied that would mean over the course of the building of HS2 during the next decade and a half that Wales gets an extra £1.9 billion for transport. That £1.9 billion could ensure that railway services across Wales are improved and that old lines surveyed for potential reopening as well as creating jobs within our communities.

I like to think that David Cameron and the Con Dems will work hard with the Labour Welsh Government in Cardiff to ensure that we don’ lose this opportunity to benefit even indirectly from HS2? Perhaps not!