HS2: Wales ‘should get a lot more’ rail funding from UK government

The Welsh economy is losing out because of a lack of rail investment, a transport expert has said.

Prof Mark Barry said Wales should be getting a lot more money, but because spending was controlled from Whitehall, England was more of a priority.

The first minister said she was doing everything she could to get more cash for the country’s railways.

The Welsh Conservatives said Wales should be getting its fair share of HS2 funding.

The Labour UK government said investment was key to its priorities, but rail investment was run from the Department for Transport in London rather than the Welsh government.

Prof Barry, from Cardiff University, said that meant Wales was down the queue for cash.

He said: “We get about 1 to 2% of the funding available but should get a lot more.

“In an ideal world you’d be looking at 5 or 6% of the total UK investment in rail enhancement, but if you don’t invest in essential economic infrastructure – specifically in energy, transport and housing – then you can’t really expect your economy to turn a corner.”

He said the amount of cash Wales was asking for was tiny compared with what had already been committed to English railways.

“The TransPennine Express Group Upgrade is a £10bn capital programme over 15 years,” he said.

“In Wales we’ve worked up over the last five years £2-3bn in very good business cases for rail investment, and the challenge is how is that going to get funded?”

In recent years the biggest argument has been about extra funding for Wales from the HS2 project.

In opposition, Labour said the HS2 rail link should be an England only scheme and Wales should get money as a result.

First Minister Eluned Morgan said she had spoken to the UK chancellor about a dividend for Wales.

Opposition parties want to see Wales press for the cash, an estimated £4-5bn, which they have said would pay for much improvement.

The leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, Andrew RT Davies MS, said: “We need to make sure that happens so that we can spend it on infrastructure and improvement in our transport operations here in Wales, and that needs to happen, and we were told that it was a turning of the page if Labour came into government on 4 July.

“Well if that page is turned, let’s have that money, and let Eluned Morgan live up to what she’s professing to do, which is to stand up for Wales.”

But the UK government’s Welsh secretary Jo Stevens seemed to close the door on that idea when she was asked about it in Parliament earlier this month.

Plaid Cymru’s parliamentary leader, Liz Saville-Roberts, told the Commons: “The truth is that the railways are broken and Labour’s plan fails to address the chronic underfunding that is the cause, particularly in Wales.

“In 2022, the secretary of state – then the shadow secretary of state – said that it was ‘utterly illogical’ to designate HS2 as an England and Wales project, and called on the Conservatives to ‘cough up’ the billions owed to Wales.

“Will she cough up now?”

In response, Ms Stevens said: “We cannot go back in time and change the way a project was commissioned, managed and classified by the previous Conservative government.

“They need to accept responsibility for the chaos, delay and waste on their watch.

“What we can do though is work closely with our Senedd and local authority colleagues to develop and invest in transport projects that improve services for passengers right across Wales.”

In a statement, Ms Stevens’ department the Wales Office reaffirmed what she had said in the Commons and added: “Following years of neglect, this new UK government recognises the importance of investing in rail infrastructure in Wales.

“The Welsh secretary has already met with the transport secretary to discuss investment in Welsh rail.”

It added that Ms Stevens was working closely with the Welsh government to identify a range of improvements.

“Alongside this the transport secretary is currently carrying out a review of the previous government’s transport commitments which will ensure our transport infrastructure portfolio drives economic growth and delivers value for money for taxpayers.”

In just over a month, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver a Budget which is expected to set the course for what the government plans to do on investment.