WALES: HS2 reset confirmed at up to £102.7 billion — and Wales won’t see a penny of it, but here’s what the government says you’ll get instead

It will cost up to £102.7 billion. It won’t open fully until between 2040 and 2043. And not a single mile of it will run through Wales. But the HS2 reset announced today by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has direct implications for rail passengers across south-west Wales — because the political argument about whether Wales is being fairly compensated for the project is far from over.

Alexander announced today that HS2 is being fundamentally reset after years of what she called “mismanagement” by successive governments. The new cost estimate — between £87.7 billion and £102.7 billion — is significantly higher than previously acknowledged, with the government blaming two thirds of the increase on works missing from the original project scope, underestimation by previous governments and inefficient delivery, and the remaining third on inflation.

The project has also been slowed down. Maximum train speeds have been cut from 360km/h to 320km/h — in line with European and Japanese high-speed rail — saving up to £2.5 billion and at least a year of construction time. The first trains between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham Curzon Street are now expected between 2036 and 2039, with the full route from London Euston to Curzon Street not expected until 2040 to 2043.

The reset is being led by the team that delivered the Elizabeth Line. Six major construction milestones have already been reached ahead of schedule in the last year, and 300 back-office roles have been cut.

For Wales, the central question has always been the same: HS2 was classified as an “England and Wales” project, meaning no Barnett formula consequential funding flowed to Cardiff Bay — despite the line not crossing the border. When the project’s costs were £56 billion, that argument was significant. At up to £102.7 billion, it is enormous.

Analysis published in December last year suggested Wales stood to lose as much as £6 billion in rail funding as a result of England-only and England-and-Wales rail schemes failing to generate Barnett consequentials. The HS2 reset, with its significantly inflated cost, will only sharpen that argument.

Asked by Swansea Bay News today whether HS2 remains an England-and-Wales scheme and whether any consequential funding would flow to Wales, the Department for Transport confirmed that it does — and directed us to its existing Welsh rail investment commitments instead.

A spokesperson said the UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales, and that “following years of underinvestment in Welsh infrastructure, this Government has recently announced £445 million in direct funding to modernise and upgrade Welsh rail.”

That £445 million was widely criticised as “measly” when it was announced — falling far short of what campaigners and politicians argued Wales was owed. But the government pointed today to a larger figure: a £14 billion pipeline of rail projects for Wales, endorsed by both the UK Government and the Welsh First Minister in February, which it says “is far more than the Welsh Government would have received had HS2, or any heavy rail project, been devolved.”

That £14 billion pipeline — built around Transport for Wales’s long-term vision for the network — includes the £140 million transformation of Cardiff Central station, new stations, faster journeys and upgraded lines. Whether it is adequate compensation for Wales’s exclusion from HS2’s benefits remains fiercely contested.

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MPs and campaigners have repeatedly called for rail powers to be devolved to Wales, arguing that the current arrangements — in which Westminster controls heavy rail spending in Wales and classifies major England projects as “England and Wales” — systematically disadvantages Welsh communities. Those calls are unlikely to quieten in the wake of today’s announcement.

Transport Secretary Alexander said the reset would deliver HS2 “as quickly as possible and at the lowest reasonable cost.” She said the project would save passengers around 30 minutes between London and Birmingham, double peak long-distance rail capacity between the capital and the West Midlands, and generate £20 billion for the economy over the next decade around its station sites.

HS2 Ltd CEO Mark Wild acknowledged the news would be unwelcome. “I recognise this will be unwelcome news for local communities and taxpayers, and I share in their disappointment that it will take longer and cost more to bring HS2 into service,” he said.

The reset is fully funded within the Department for Transport’s current spending review settlement, with no additional borrowing. Funding beyond 2029-30 will be set at future spending reviews.

For passengers in Swansea, Llanelli and across south-west Wales, HS2 will never stop at their station. What matters is whether the investment promised for Wales’s own rail network actually materialises — and whether it is enough.

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California high-speed rail price tag jumps to $231B, nearly 7x 2008 estimate

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#HackerNews #CaliforniaHighSpeedRail #RailFunding #InfrastructureCosts #TransportationNews #BudgetConcerns

MP calls for devolved rail powers after ‘shocking’ £6.6bn project delivers nothing for Wales

The decision follows a pattern of major rail projects (including HS2) being wrongly classed as “England and Wales” schemes, meaning Wales is denied the funding it would otherwise receive through the Barnett formula. The classification was revealed by local Liberal Democrat MP David Chadwick following a written question in Parliament, which was answered by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Simon Lightwood.

Speaking in the House of Commons today, David Chadwick MP condemned the decision as “shocking” and called on the UK Government to urgently devolve full powers over rail infrastructure to Wales, so future English projects can no longer be used to side-line Welsh investment.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats estimate that Wales would have received over £360 million in consequential funding from the East-West Rail project alone. Independent experts estimate Wales has lost over £4 billion as a result of similar misclassifications in recent years.

The party continues to campaign for this project to be reclassified as “England only,” for a fair funding settlement for Wales, for full devolution of transport infrastructure to the Senedd, and for sustained investment in Welsh rail services, including long-overdue improvements to the Heart of Wales Line.

Commenting, David Chadwick MP said: “It is simply indefensible that Wales continues to be frozen out of hundreds of millions in rail funding for projects that do not lay a single centimetre of track in our country. We saw this with HS2, with Northern Powerhouse Rail, and now again with East-West Rail. Time after time, Wales is left behind.

“It is clear that someone in this labour government is out to deliberately short-change Wales. The only way forward is to devolve full powers over rail infrastructure to Wales so we can make decisions that serve our own communities.

“Wales must be able to invest properly in its own rail network. That includes delivering serious improvements to the Heart of Wales Line, which has been neglected for decades.

“Investment in lines such as the Heart of Wales Line would make a meaningful difference to Wales, unlike a rail project hundreds of miles away between Oxford and Cambridge. This line is a lifeline for rural communities, supporting jobs, education and tourism, and it deserves the same level of ambition and investment as rail services elsewhere in the UK.”

Meanwhile a former Swansea Labour MP has also criticised the UK Labour Government for Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s latest £15.6bn transport investment announcement, where she missed Wales out entirely.

Geraint Davies called for the Welsh Government and Welsh MPs to “step-up so Wales can get it’s fair share” and for Wales’ rail infrastructure to be devolved.

#DavidChadwickMP #HeartOfWales #railFunding #railInvestment #Railway #UKGovernment #WelshLiberalDemocrats

Former Labour MP criticises chancellor for leaving out Wales in latest train, bus and tram funding announcement

The former MP, who was deselected by the party prior to the last general election, has said the chancellor’s England-only announcement and Barnet consequential’s for Northern Ireland and Scotland leaves Wales short-changed.

He’s calling on the Welsh Government and Welsh MPs to “step-up so Wales can get it’s fair share” and for Wales’ rail infrastructure to be devolved.

Mr Davies said: “Rachel Reeves’ announcement for local transport projects is just for England’s city regions between 2027 and 2032 even though Wales has only got 1.5% of rail enhancement investment for its 5% of UK population for decades when Scotland gets 8% for its 8% of population.

“It’s time for Welsh Government and Welsh MPs to step up so Wales gets its fair share.

“Only after our fair share will we see the productivity and inward investment Wales needs to lift growth and wages and to reduce poverty. Instead having the lowest wages we are hit by the biggest cuts to the weak and disabled.”

“I pioneered the South London orbital tram system when I was Leader of Croydon Council and consistently called for investment in rail for Wales as the Swansea West MP. Swansea needs a faster and electrified rail link to Cardiff and an electric tram from the rail station both to the coast to the mumbles and to connect up our city region to the rail system. Instead we get excuses.

“The Welsh Government refused to take devolved responsibility for rail infrastructure when Blair offered it in 1997 and it was given to Scotland. It’s time it was devolved to Wales but instead rail investment in England is classified as “England and Wales” even when, as in HS2, the line doesn’t go through Wales and diverts other investment from Wales. We need devolved responsibility in Wales now as a matter of urgency from the current UK government.”

#Bus #Chancellor #GeraintDaviesMP #publicTransport #RachelReevesMP #railFunding #tram #UKGovernment

Claims Wales ‘short-changed again’ after Oxford to Cambridge rail link classed as ‘England and Wales’

The UK Government has confirmed that Wales will not receive Barnett consequentials from the £6.6 billion East-West Rail project between Oxford and Cambridge — a decision that has been slammed by the Welsh Liberal Democrats as yet another example of Labour short-changing Wales on vital infrastructure funding.

Despite the rail scheme being entirely in England, the Treasury has confirmed Wales will not receive Barnett consequentials from the project. Were Wales to be treated like Scotland, it could have received around £360 million in consequential funding to spend on transport projects in Wales.

The news that the project is to be classed as an ‘England and Wales’ scheme was uncovered in response to questions put forward by the Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick.

The news follows the UK Government’s controversial handling of HS2 funding, where the £100 billion high-speed rail project — entirely based in England — was classified as an “England and Wales” project, resulting in no consequential funding for Wales at all.

In contrast, Scotland and Northern Ireland both received full funding uplifts.

Northern Powerhouse Rail, which will connect cities in the North of England has also previously been classified as an ‘England and Wales project” depriving Wales of up to £1bn in additional funding.

Independent experts, including the Senedd’s Finance Committee and academics at Cardiff University, have criticised the classifications, estimating that Wales lost out on over £4 billion as a result of HS2 alone — money that could have been invested in desperately needed upgrades to Welsh rail infrastructure.

Until the General Election, Labour had publicly backed Wales receiving the HS2 money it should have been paid if HS2 had been classified as an “England-only project”. Since Labour’s Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens has repeatedly told MPs that she is fighting for fairer rail funding and to wait for the spending review.

Responding to the news, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said: “This is HS2 all over again. Wales is being denied hundreds of millions in funding that could transform our own rail network, all because Labour insists on cooking the books and pretending these projects benefit Wales when they clearly do not.

“East-West Rail is between Oxford and Cambridge. Not a single centimetre of track will be laid in Wales. Yet Labour expects people across Wales to believe the ridiculous idea that this project will benefit them, and they are justified in not giving Wales the money it needs to improve our own public transport systems.

“It’s a disgrace, and it shows there has been no meaningful change since in the way Wales is treated since Labour took power compared to the Conservatives.

“All we want is Wales to be treated fairly, to receive the same treatment as Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

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