Wrexham.com > News European Elections 2014
Posted: Mon 13th Jan 2025
Ken Skates MS has said “our aim is to have direct metro services between Wrexham and Liverpool” as part of a North Wales Metro.
Wrexham’s MS Lesley Griffiths asked Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates MS for an update on the ‘North Wales Metro’ project.
Skates replied, “Providing metro-style services in north Wales is a priority, and I’m pleased that there are plans to deliver 50 per cent more TfW services along the north Wales mainline from 2026. Work continues also to improve connectivity in the Mersey-Dee area, particularly the Borderlands line, with the aspiration to deliver metro services there as well, not just between Wrexham and Bidston, but directly between Wrexham and Liverpool.”
Griffiths came back noting a key transport report, “The North Wales metro is to have a transformative effect on both rail and bus services across the region, as well as improving active travel routes. It has had successes, but its continued progress is tied into the North Wales Transport Commission’s final report, which the Cabinet Secretary will be aware was published over a year ago. The recommendations put forward by the commission have yet to be decided upon or adopted by the corporate joint committee for north Wales, so I’d be grateful if you could give me a timeline for the implementation of the recommendations.”
The Senedd was told by Skates, “This is a really, really timely question, I believe, because we’re working very closely with the corporate joint committee to deliver the recommendations outlined in the transport commission report. We’re working very, very closely with UK Government as well—indeed, some of the recommendations are at the top of the priority list when it comes to rail enhancements in Wales. And both the north Wales metro work and the north Wales regional transport plan are being developed at pace. The north Wales regional transport plan is being finalised. I’m very pleased that it’s going to be consulted on soon, and hopefully it can be signed off later this year, and that will reflect the work of the North Wales Transport Commission.”
Sam Rowlands MS took up the baton on the question, “I’m grateful to Lesley Griffiths for raising this question in the Chamber here this afternoon. I certainly welcome the focus on improving transport links across north Wales, and as you pointed out, Cabinet Secretary, those links into north-west England, which are so important for jobs and economic growth in north Wales as well. The quicker that this investment can take place the better, in my view. As has already been outlined, it seems to be dragging along quite slowly, and I hope that’s not a metaphor for the future of the metro in north Wales when it’s in place.
“You said in a committee session in November that there are oven-ready projects to be delivered for the metro. I know you’ve given, let’s be honest, a fairly vague outline this afternoon of the recommendations being implemented, but I wonder whether you could be more specific about the expected timeline for completing the projects that you described as being oven ready.”
Skates replied, “These are projects, obviously, that are not our responsibility, because we don’t own the rail network in north Wales. It’s still Network Rail, which is to become Great British Railways. But I spoke with the rail Minister and the Secretary of State for Transport and indeed the Secretary of State for Wales just before Christmas, where we went through some of those, if you like, oven-ready projects.
“The first and most obvious one that could be delivered in a comparatively short period of time is the work that’s required at Padeswood cement works. That would then facilitate the next stage of work on the Borderlands line, and as I say, our aim is to have direct metro services between Wrexham and Liverpool. Beginning with the Padeswood cement works infrastructure project, I believe that that could be delivered within the space of 18 to 24 months, and then the next sections of the project could be delivered within a matter of years thereafter.
“Delivering a metro system between Wrexham and Liverpool would complement what could be four trains per hour along the north Wales coast for many stations, provided the services currently operated by Avanti West Coast can be enhanced back to the level that they were at pre COVID.”
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