HANDBAGS AT 50 YARDS

The latest bout of handbags between the current Con Dem Westminster Government and the Labour in Wales Government over just exactly who is going to pay what for railway electrification in Wales (and who said what?) is depressing to say the least. There is a convenient manufactured feel about it, with both sides scoring easy political points at our  expense and once again failing to get the electrification of the valley lines project started.

I suspect that but for the increasingly nominal difference in ideology then the Welsh Government in Cardiff would not even be asking Westminster to stump up the cash for electrifying the valley lines. Neither the Westminster government or the Welsh government are serving Wales well or let alone standing up for our interests being too busy having yet another convenient spat.

Plaid is actively campaigning to ensure that Wales gets its fair share of funding from the England-only HS2 project. Plaid has also successfully campaigned to make sure that the electrification programme for the Great Western region was extended beyond Bristol (the original limit for electrification as quietly proposed by the last New Labour government in Westminster).

Sadly it is now becoming clear that the Labour in Wales Government is too weak to stand up to Westminster and its failure to secure a written agreement from the UK Government that the Treasury would cover the costs of electrifying the Valley lines may suggest a more than a degree of incompetence. Until a definitive agreement is reached and signed, then the delays will continue and our country will continue to miss out on millions of pounds of funding that could transform our transport infrastructure, connect our communities, and create a rail network fit for the 21^st rather than the 19^thcentury.

Speaking on Tuesday Plaid Cymru’s Jonathan Edwards MP  said:

“Wales historically receives only a fraction of our population share in transport infrastructure which explains why our road and rail networks are so poor.  We are the only country in the whole of the European continent that does not currently have a single mile of electrified rail track, apart from Albania. This is why electrifying our existing network is so important, but in effect it would only lead to Wales catching up with other parts of the UK.

“Both the UK and Welsh governments have claimed credit for moves to electrify the Valleys lines without agreeing on how it will be paid for.  The posturing by both administrations is putting the project – and the economic benefits that would follow – at risk.  Once again we have Westminster taking Wales for a ride and unfortunately the Labour government is too weak to stand up and protect the interest of Wales.  Labour are also guilty of gross incompetence, basing their position on a TV interview by the Prime Minister rather than the fine detail of correspondence between both Administrations.   

“The truth is that, if the Labour Welsh Government got behind Plaid Cymru’s campaign for a fair share of HS2 funding for Wales – a figure which could be as high as £4bn according to some estimates – then this tiff would be academic.   Instead, the Labour Government blindly follow the position of their Labour masters in London, despite independent economic assessments indicating that HS2 would hit the South Wales economy particularly hard.

“Rather than engage in tedious tit-for-tat exchanges between Westminster and Cardiff Bay, Plaid Cymru is interested in securing fair and sustainable funding for Wales’ railways in order to transform our transport infrastructure and create a network fit for purpose.

“The line between Glasgow and London was electrified forty years ago. Once again, the Westminster elite are happy to treat Wales as a second class nation.

“Carrying out rail policy on the basis of ‘doing deals’ project-by-project is a recipe for disaster, as this row has clearly shown. It is not the way rail policy is done in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where transport infrastructure is devolved where there are much better levels of rail investment.

“If the people of Wales want improved services, quicker journeys and better-connected communities, they should back Plaid Cymru’s efforts to secure fair transport funding for our nation. This Labour and Tory spat shows that the Westminster parties cannot be trusted to act in the Welsh national interest.”

HANDBAGS AT 50 YARDS?

I have a small degree of sympathy with the view expressed by the Welsh Government that London should pay for rail electrification projects, as control over Network Rail (in Wales) has not (yet - if you read the Silk Commission report) been devolved to Wales. Now I would qualify that by saying that London (as the senior partner) in the Union should pay for UK wide infrastructure projects, and the electrification of the railway from London to Swansea would tick the box for most people as being a UK infrastructure project.

Rail electrification in the South?

The electrification of the Valley lines into Cardiff, possibly Swansea and hopefully Newport may well be another matter, having not been on the cards when the original electrification projects were planned. It is worth noting at this point that the last New Labour Westminster Government never intended the proposed electrification of the old Great Western line to go beyond Bristol – so much for standing up for Wales. As for electrifying the Valley lines, I would personally suggest getting on with it, it has been calculated that the Welsh Government could pay for that from its own transport budget, even after the Con Dem imposed cuts.

The problem comes from the fact that when it comes to transport infrastructure projects we in Wales literally have one hand tied behind out backs, because, unlike in Scotland, we have no control over transport infrastructure planning. It should be obvious by now that this (and the previous Westminster government) have little more than a passing interest in Wales, let alone any concerns for our national interests.

Handbags at fifty yards?

There is an old diplomatic service / civil service adage about crisis management, which goes along the lines of first you create your crisis, and then you manage it. That said there is more than a distinctly manufactured feel to this latest spat between the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay and the Con Dem coalition government in Westminster. Perhaps rather than a constitutional crisis or even a disagreement about more powers or a clash over point of principal, it may be more of a case of handbags at fifty yards.

The party formerly known as New Labour, when in Westminster government proved to be largely indifferent to Welsh interests, beyond political token gestures. This view can be said to have been backed up by the Welsh MPs voting record on matters of interest to Wales, since their party lost power in Westminster. Sadly this latest spat merely serves to strengthen the illusion that our nominally Welsh Labour government is standing up for Wales, the danger is that this dispute could end up delaying the much needed electrification of the valley lines for a few more years. 

We should have learned by now that we cannot rely on any Westminster Government to deliver for Wales. Let's electrify the Valley lines and the Ebbw Vale line (initially) into Cardiff by using some of the National Assembly's 0.78 billion transport budget. Here  in the South East, we need railway stations at Caerleon and Magor and better facilities for passengers and more stopping services at Severn Tunnel, Chepstow and Abergavenny along with more secure park and ride schemes and better integration with local bus services – it’s time to stop asking and to start demanding that government actually delivers for our country. 

WAITING FOR A TRAIN!

I now regularly sees the sun come up whilst trundling rapidly across the Gwent levels and regularly stand on Cardiff (Central) Station waiting for connections amidst the tantalising smells wafting across from the Brain brewery (at least when there is a South West or West wind). I find that I have become a regular rail user, joining the many thousands of people commuting to (and from work) in the south.

As a regular rail user (Arriva Trains)I find that to be honest, aside from the occasional glitch (over running maintenance from weekends, periodic broken down trains, point’s failures and cable thefts, etc) most of the time the system seems to function. Having lived, worked and commuted in London (for some seven and half years) I find myself commuting by train again. On a good day I can make it from station to station (Treforest to Newport, etc) in around 50 mins (and that with one change) which is not too bad.

A simple choice: People before Profits

Other rail travellers are not so lucky, with rail franchise operators running services that ensure certain connections literally cannot be made, which is one way to avoid getting fined. This is not a satisfactory way to run a rail service, the key word here being ‘Service’. Obviously this state of affairs speaks volumes,especially as it fails to impact on the Westminster elite (I use the term loosely) as they tend not to travel by train very much (save when cultivating votes).

In much of our country trains a once cheap and reasonably reliable form of public transport is conspicuous by its absence, that not to mention costs and infrequent services deter actual and potential rail passengers. When you factor in the legacy of the Conservative and Labour rail service rundown and cuts in the 1960 and early 1970’s and excessive profiteering on the part of the privatised passenger franchise holders and much is explained.

Our country suffered particularly badly from rail cuts in the late 1960’s when Labour was in office under Harold Wilson, that and the pit closure programme that hit hard in the south and north east. The privatisation of British Rail, something that New Labour loudly boasted that they themselves would have done if the Conservatives had not already done it, was one of the latter significant more questionable ideologically driven batch of privatisations (between 1994 and 1997).

For the best part of ten years prior to privatisation British Rail could best perhaps have been described as starved of funds. The passenger arm was initially broken up upon privatisation into 25 seperate passenger franchises. Our country’s rail region Wales and West ended up as Wessex Trains and Wales and Borders which at one point included the Cardiff Railway Company services which operated as Valley Lines. This franchise was then split into two separate franchises, which are currently run by First Great Western and Arriva Trains Wales.

Our current franchise was awarded to Arriva Trains Wales in 2003 and runs for 15 years, and is due to end in 2018. There have been many persistent calls for the rail franchise to be run as a not-for-profit operation – with profits being feed back into the system, rather than vanishing to pay shareholders dividends. The Welsh Government has been considering this option for when the deal ends. Arriva Trains Wales is the only train firm covered by the Welsh Government’s transport remit. Any longer-distance services e.g. Swansea or Cardiff to Paddington are currently operated by First Great Western who have their fares regulated by the Westminster Department for Transport.

Now while this may well be ancient history, but it has implications for the way the railway franchises run how their profits are made and where they go. Despite the best efforts of New Labour and the Con Dems to reduce it, the franchise companies still receive a significant chunk of public (state) funding. Basically this has to be repaid to the Government before any profits can be made on top – hence the regular (and painful) rise in rail fares. It would make more sense for profits made to stay in the system rather than get hovered up to pay shareholders dividends and senior mangers fat bonuses.

The service we currently get reflects the disinterested priorities of the franchise holder rather than our national priorities when it comes to our railways and the services we need. A couple of weeks ago, I used the Arriva trains service from Betws-y-Coed to Llandudno junction (my actual destination was Conwy) but connecting trains (that stop) could best be described as infrequent. The friendly advice was to walk across the bridge to the town rather than wait a few hours for the connecting service (as Conwy appears to be an infrequent request stop).

For those people who don’t know about it, the Conwy Valley line is one of our country’s most beautiful rail journeys (at least in my opinion) it runs from Llandudno (via Llandudno Junction) to Blaenau Festiniog is single track and served by a series of unstaffed  stations (some of which are request stops). If I am being honest the service provided could best be described as minimal and inconvenient for potential passengers, possibly far less of service runs on the line than at any time since the railway was built with a train every three hours on weekdays and Saturdays, with six departures per day each way in total.

The electrification of the local lines into Cardiff, Bridgend, Newport and Swansea is long overdue as is the tram system to link the Bay properly with the rest of Cardiff. The Transport (Wales) Act which came into effect in February 2006 gave the National Assembly the 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 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 dividend profit basis. That day cannot come soon enough!

A GREEN LIGHT?

Like many people I welcome the proposals to introduce electrification to the Valleys Lines rail network, something that is long-overdue and will be an important investment in our country’s somewhat neglected transport system. I view the proposed if limited electrification of parts of Valleys Lines network as a good start, with more to follow. What we should get is the electrification of the following lines:

• Cardiff Central to Cardiff Queen Street
• Cardiff Queen Street to Aberdare
• Cardiff Queen Street to Cardiff Bay
• Cardiff Queen Street to Coryton
• Newport to Ebbw Vale
• Cardiff Central to Maesteg via Pontyclun, Bridgend
• Abercynon to Merthyr Tydfil
• Grangetown to Penarth
• Cardiff Central to Danescourt via Radyr (City Line)
• Cardiff Queen Street to Rhymney
• Pontypridd to Treherbert
• Cardiff Central to Bridgend via Barry - Bridgend (Vale of Glamorgan)
• Barry to Barry Island
• Bridgend to Swansea

This is a good start, which combined with the electrification of the main line from Swansea to Paddington, will begin the modernisation of our railway network. This when combined with the Wales and Border franchise being run as not-for-dividend social model (which could happen when the franchise expires in 2018) could lay the ground work for a renewal of our railways in Wales.

The omission of any reference to reopening the final stage of the line from Ebbw Vale to Newport is disappointing and is something that needs immediate action. Over the medium term electrification should be extended to the other Gwent lines, through to Abergavenny and Chepstow.

If the governments in Cardiff and London were serious about our railways then serious consideration also needs to be given to looking at reconnecting some of our towns to the rail network. A good follow on would be reconnecting Caernarfon, Dolgellau and Builth Wells to the network, reopening the Llangefni and Amlwch on Ynys Mon, improving North – South rail communications and getting freight off road and back onto our railways.

COMMON SENSE

Plaid has outlined some of ambitious yet achievable proposals for the rail network in Wales calling for the electrification of the railways in the Valleys. This makes sense as it would create a modern transport system, help with carbon reduction programmes and create a quicker, cleaner and more efficient railway network and will allow for larger passenger numbers. hand in hand with the electrification programme newer and more modern electric trains will allow our railways to carry more passengers. As well as this commitment to the electrification of the Valleys lines, Plaid remains committed to electrification of the Great Western mainline.

GET IT DONE!

News that Network Rail managers are exploring whether the Valley Lines should be electrified by the end of this decade, regardless of whether the UK Government abandons main line electrification in South Wales, is good news. The initial Network Rail Valley Lines study could be completed by the summer and this fresh research could help ministers in Cardiff and Westminster decide on future investment.

The Western Mail, notes that so far no funding has been identified yet for the scheme, but the investment could more than pay for itself because electric trains would bring so many advantages over the diesel-powered alternatives. The timing of the scheme's implementation, if adopted would be driven by the fact that the rapidly ageing Sprinter and Pacer trains, which are currently used for Valley Lines services, will have to be withdrawn from service at some point. So lets get it done!

A GOOD CALL

The Cardiff Business Partnership (CBP) call for an investment of £2.5 billion over 10 years to connect Cardiff, Newport and the valleys to promote economic growth is timely and the report, well thought out and would make a real and practical difference to many of our valley communities. The CPB report, A Metro For Wales’ Capital City Region, written by transport consultant Mark Barry, points out that the proposed £2.5bn plan may well seem to be expensive but almost entirely “pales into insignificance” when it is compared to the £40 billion of public money that has been committed to the high speed rail link between London and Birmingham.

We are far too focused on the rail link to London, which has long needed electrification, it's far too easy to end up endlessly complaining about how Wales is left out of this, fails to get that, etc. Wales is unfairly funded - fact. Let's move on, and see what we can achieve with what we have. The Con Dem's are unlikely, no matter how well reasoned the case is and no matter how well explained the arguments are, to change their mind or their position in relation to fair funding for Wales.

So lets' get practical, let's give some real and serious consideration be given to electrifying the valley lines down to the coastal belt. Now if we use part of WAG's Annual Transport budget, which comes in at around £0.76 billion. If we make creative use of European matched funding then we could be talking about doing the business. Sion Barry (in the Western Mail 24th September 2010) estimated that some £200 million would pay for the electrification of the valley lines into Cardiff. Liverpool has long had an electrified rail link to London and has scarcely benefited from it.

In practical terms, what we are talking about is the Ebbw Vale to Cardiff (and eventually to Newport) line, the lines in Western Gwent, the lines down from Rhondda, Cynon and Taff Valleys to Cardiff and lines into Swansea and Bridgend. And we don't have to do it all in one go but in relatively affordable stages. This is a real opportunity to do something practical and lasting for our Valley communities and lets look doing it now.

GETTING ON WITH THE JOB

The one lesson that we should have learned by now is that we cannot rely on any Westminster Government to deliver for Wales. Let's electrify the Valley lines and the Ebbw Vale line (initially) into Cardiff by using some of the National Assembly's 0.78 billion transport budget. The Con Dem Westminster Government's has failed to stump up the cash for the electrification of the rail line between Swansea (originally only to Bristol) and London Paddington, a project that the last New Labour Government only considered in the last two years of Government (on occasion I do wonder what New Labour were doing in the previous eleven years at times), is disappointing. While we are at it, in the South East, we need railway stations at Caerleon and Magor and better facilities for passengers and more stopping services at Severn Tunnel, Chepstow and Abergavenny along with secure park and ride schemes and better integration of local bus services.

A WORTHY ENDEAVOUR, BUT...

Around 80 south Wales political and business leaders have signed a petition calling for the electrification of the rail line from Swansea to London. The Great Western Partnership's letter aims to tell the UK transport minister Phillip Hammond that it would provide an essential economic lifeline. This is a worthy effort, but, I suspect that the Con Dem's are not going to listen any time soon, the Welsh Secretary is currently too busy fighting against a proposed railway project that cuts through her constituency, to be bothered with Wales, even if she remembers where she left it?

I think we would all be better off putting our efforts into encouraging the National Assembly Government to start electrifying the valley lines to Cardiff (as first step) - I mention this because Liverpool has had an electrified rail-link to London for some years,but, I do wonder how exactly this has benefited the city? Starting to electrify the valley lines (something that does not have to be done in one go) would bring lasting benefit to our valley communities and seriously improve our transport infrastructure. Railway wise we need to do something different that has lasting benefits for all our communities.

REACTING TO CONSEQUENCES

One of the consequences of the Comprehensive Spending Review, may well be that the proposed £1.1 billion pound Swansea to London rail electrification project bites the dust. Plaid's Ieuan Wyn Jones successfully negotiated the multi-million pound the extension of the proposed upgrade and electrification of the rail line between Swansea and London last year. The original electrification project was (as proposed by New Labour) was only intended to extend as far as Bristol, and only after the intervention of the Plaid driven One Wales Government did they agreed to electrify the line as far as Swansea.

The silence from the ConDem Government in Westminster, in relation to the fate of this project could at best be described as evasive or at worst described as telling when it comes to committing to the extending the electrification programme into Wales - so much for Wales being a ConDem priority. There has been plenty of financial white smoke from the Treasury, but, as yet no clear answer either way.

Here are some statistics to think about:

Electrified Rail in Europe


Switzerland: 100%
Sweden: 77%
Netherlands: 73%
Italy: 69%
Germany: 56%
Spain: 56%
UK: 40%

Source: UIC Website: http://uic.asso.fr

Electrified Rail in Wales (After 13 years of New Labour Government).


Wales: 0%

I think that we are too focused on the rail link to London, which has long needed electrification, it's far too easy to end up endlessly complaining about how Wales is left out of this, fails to get that, etc. Wales is unfairly funded - fact. Let's move on, and see what we can achieve with what we have got. The Con Dem's are unlikely, no matter how well reasoned the case is and no matter how well explained the arguments are, not going to change their mind or their position in relation to fair funding for Wales.

So lets' get practical, let's give some real and serious consideration be given to electrifying the valley lines down to the coastal belt. What we are talking about is the Ebbw Vale to Cardiff (and eventually to Newport) line, the lines in Western Gwent, the lines down from Rhondda, Cynon and Taff Valleys to Cardiff and lines into Swansea and Bridgend.

Now if we use part of WAG's Annual Transport budget, which comes in at around £0.76 billion. If we make creative use of European matched funding then we could be talking about doing the business. Sion Barry (in the Western Mail 24th September 2010) estimated that some £200 million would pay for the electrification of the valley lines into Cardiff. Liverpool has long had an electrified rail link to London and has scarcely benefited from it. We can do the London link later, lets do something lasting for our Valley communities and lets look doing it now.

We also need to look at reopening old railway lines, feasibility studies into the possibilities of reopening to old railway lines (between Llangefni on Anglesey and Bangor, and between Aberdare and Hirwaun in the Cynon valley) to passenger traffic have already been called for from Network Rail. Similar feasibility studies need to be undertaken on the old railway lines between Usk via Little Mill to the main line and in the Wye Valley between Chepstow and Monmouth.

If we are serious about delivering reliable, effective and sustainable all weather communications to our communities then reopening old railway lines initially to passenger and then to rail freight is the way to go. These lines to Usk and to Monmouth via Chepstow which were originally closed by the then Conservative Government which initiated significant and damaging cuts to rail services via the Beeching review of rail transport.

If Government in both London and Cardiff is really serious about cutting carbon emissions and road congestion then reopening these lines to rail and fright traffic could provide serious economic stimulation to the local economies and provide a real opportunity for people to make use of public transport which would reduce road congestion. Let's get to work.