Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru has accused the Conservative party of failing to fully fund North Wales Main Line electrification and the Labour party of remaining silent about the issue.
Llinos Medi, Plaid Cymru candidate for the Ynys Môn constituency, claims that the initial cost estimate of one billion pounds is no longer realistic, and that the government has failed to increase its funding accordingly.
Electrification of the North Wales Coast Line featured in 2021's Hendy report, as did improvements to ‘multi-modal' transport links between North Wales and North West England.
The line runs from Crewe to Holyhead, via stations including Rhyl, Llandudno Junction, Conwy and Bangor.
Medi has called on both parties to commit to funding the electrification in full. Medi claims that Wales is owed four billion pounds from the cancellation of the High Speed 2 rail link, and describes the failure to pay it as “the most egregious example of the Tories and Labour colluding to keep Wales in the slow lane”.
Medi also argued that the Conservative government's refusal to pay, and what she called Labour's “silent complicity”, “speaks volumes about the Westminster parties' priorities.”
The constituency, which comprises the island of Anglesey, is closely contested between Plaid Cymru, Labour and the Conservatives.
Currently held by the Tories, it was previously held by Labour from 2001 until 2019, and before that, by Plaid.
Medi asserted that the North Wales Main Line electrification was “long overdue”.
She promised that, if elected, she would press the UK government to “fully fund” the line beyond the “insufficient” pledge of one billion pounds, which was welcomed by campaign group Growth Track 360, but which Medi claims falls short of the estimated £1.5 billion given the rise in construction costs since the initial estimate was made in 2015.
“The refusal to provide Wales the billions we are owed from England's High Speed rail link is the most egregious example of the Tories and Labour colluding to keep Wales in the slow lane.
“Wales's rail network is creaking at the seams yet successive Tory and Labour governments in Westminster have failed to deliver the investment we need to create a public transport system fit for the 21st century.
“By denying Wales billions of HS2 consequentials owed to us, the Tories are forcing Welsh taxpayers to foot the bill for a rail link where not a single metre of track will be built here.
“Keir Starmer's silence on the matter only exposes Labour's complicity and shows that his party's real priorities lie in Westminster, not Wales.
“North Wales has also been waiting for the long overdue electrification of the Main Line. The UK Government's announcement of £1 billion was poorly thought out given it was based on estimates made nearly a decade ago. Rising costs means that this money is around a third of the way short of the full funding which is actually required. Here we have yet more evidence of Wales being short changed by Westminster.
“If elected as MP for Ynys Môn, I would be fighting week in, week out to ensure that the next UK Government, whether red or blue, commits to funding the North Wales Main Line electrification in full.
“This is a clear demonstration of Plaid Cymru's commitment to serve the whole of Wales, and nothing less than the people of Ynys Môn and the wider north deserve.”
Plaid Cymru Westminster candidate for Ynys Môn, Llinos Medi
I thought that the devolved Welsh government were supposed to be funding their own projects. If not then what is devolution for? They always want to have their cake and eat it too.
The branch to Llandudno and Deganwy should also be electrified, since several services terminate there.
Tories cancelled parts of HS2 and said money would be used on other projects like electrification of North Wales coast .. can’t quite see how the Labour Party are to blame ….
Jo Stevens the Labour candidate here is Shadow Secretary for Wales and post election will be Westminster Secretary of State for Wales. There should be some movement on the missing payments.