I beg to move,
That this House has considered railway infrastructure in Wales.
It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Cummins, and an honour to chair the all-party parliamentary group for rail in Wales. My hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Chris Elmore) is the previous chair, and I am trying my best to maintain his high standards.
My passion for trains and everything to do with railways began when I was a young child of about three. I was born and brought up in a small village in south Wales called Kenfig Hill. My grandmother, whom we called Mam, lived in nearby Porthcawl, which is a seaside town with lovely beaches and a funfair—every child’s dream. We did not have a car, so my mother tried many times to take me on a bus to Porthcawl to see Mam, but I suffered, and still suffer, from travel sickness. We sat at the front of the bus and managed to travel only a short distance before the driver, who knew me well, would see me turning a terrible shade of green and have to stop to allow me to make a quick exit so as to be sick at the side of the road. However, a train ran from the adjacent village, Pyle, to Porthcawl, so my mother tried it. I was fine—no sickness—and I loved the journey.
However, when I was a teenager, along came Beeching, who closed the rail link from Pyle to Porthcawl. Infrastructure has been removed, but I have a dream that one day the freight line that runs from Neath town to Onllwyn at the top of the Dulais valley in my constituency will be converted and once more be a passenger line. Many of the original stations are still there, the freight line gauge is compatible with passenger trains and a global centre of rail excellence is being developed in Onllwyn. I will say more about the global centre later.
Members should think about the benefits of such a scheme. For example, people could take the train to work, and tourists could experience the beauty of the countryside in my constituency while riding on a train. Just before the pandemic struck, Neath Port Talbot Council leased a passenger train to drive up the freight line and test it out. Alas, the test never happened.
A famous local historian lived in Onllwyn. His name was George Brinley Evans, and we all called him Uncle George. Sadly, he passed away last year aged 96. I met Uncle George when I became Member of Parliament for Neath, and he was as passionate about trains as I am. Uncle George lent me many books about trains and railways, and he told me many stories about the rail infrastructure that existed in his time. His dream was to reopen the passenger line from Swansea to Brecon and across the borders. Maybe one day, Uncle George, we will achieve that.
There is one drawback to my love of trains, as some Members here today might know: I am a travel jinx. People who find that out then go out of their way not to travel with me. I could tell the House many stories about my innate ability, over which I have no control, to cause car, train, boat and plane journeys to go horribly wrong. I will tell just one today.
A few years ago, we held a joint event in Pontypridd with the then Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, my friend Ken Skates MS, who represents Clwyd South, and the then shadow Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald). After a successful event, we caught the train from Pontypridd to Cardiff. So far, so good. Then the shadow Secretary of State and I caught the train from Cardiff Central to Paddington. We got to the next stop, Newport, but the train was paused for longer than usual. We waited patiently until an announcement was made that there was a cow on the line between Newport and the Severn tunnel, so we would be bussed to Bristol Parkway.
The train was packed, and it took a long time for us to get off and make our way to the front of Newport station, where we queued for buses. We managed to get the front seats on top of a double-decker, and I prayed that I would not be sick and embarrass myself in front of the shadow.
We arrived at Bristol Parkway, only to be told that there was serious flooding on the line between Bristol and Swindon, so we would be put on a train from Parkway to Temple Meads and hopefully be able to get the cross-country train to Paddington. The journey was exhausting and stressful and took six hours instead of one hour and 50 minutes. While we were waiting in Bristol Parkway, we found a plaque on the platform about the then Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), opening the new platform; I still have the selfie that we took in front of the plaque. Needless to say, my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough has not travelled with me since.
Setting aside my dysfunctional relationship with public transport, it is important to recognise that railways have played a crucial role in the development of the UK and Wales, connecting remote communities and facilitating trade and travel. However, despite that rich history, the railway infrastructure in Wales has faced its fair share of challenges in recent years. Today I will discuss the state of the railway infrastructure in Wales, the challenges it faces and the opportunities for improvement.
The railway network in Wales is made up of about 1,600 miles of track connecting cities, towns and villages across the country. It is a vital part of the transport infrastructure, providing a safe and efficient means of travel for both passengers and goods. However, the infrastructure is ageing and there are concerns about its safety and reliability.
One of the main challenges facing the railway infrastructure in Wales is the lack of investment. Although some improvements have been made in recent years, such as the electrification of the south Wales main line, there is still a significant funding gap in the infrastructure’s maintenance and modernisation. That is particularly concerning given the network’s age, with many of the tracks, stations and signalling systems in need of repair and replacement.