North Wales MPs applaud investment to electrify rail line
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to “reinvest every single penny, £36 billion, in hundreds of new transport projects in the North and the Midlands across the country” after cutting HS2 north of Birmingham.
During his Tory conference speech in Manchester on October 4, Mr Sunak confirmed he was cancelling the rest of the HS2 project describing it as a “long running saga.”
He said: “And in its place we will reinvest every single penny, £36 billion, in hundreds of new transport projects in the North and the Midlands, and across the country. This means £36 billion of investment in the projects that will make a real difference across our country.
“As a result of the decision we are taking, every region outside of London will receive the same or more government investment than they would have done under HS2, with quicker results. No government has ever developed a more ambitious scheme for Northern transport than our new Network North.
“This is the right way to drive growth and spread opportunity across our country. To level up. With our new Network North, you will be able to get from Manchester to the new station in Bradford in 30 minutes, Sheffield in 42 minutes and to Hull in 84 minutes on a fully, electrified line.
“We’ll protect the £12 billion pounds to link up Manchester and Liverpool as planned and we will engage with local leaders on how best to deliver the scheme.
“We’ll build the Midlands Rail Hub, connecting 50 stations. We’ll help Andy Street extend the West Midlands Metro… Build the Leeds tram, electrify the North Wales main line… Upgrade the A1, the A2, the A5, the M6 and we’ll connect our Union with the A75 boosting links between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
“We’ll fund the Shipley bypass, the Blyth relief road and deliver 70 other road schemes. We’ll resurface roads across the country. We’ll bring back the Don Valley line. We’ll upgrade the energy coast line between Carlisle, Workington and Barrow. Build hundreds of other schemes. And keep the £2 bus fare across the whole country.”
Giving his reaction, James Davies, MP for Vale of Clwyd, who is former chair of the Mersey Dee North Wales All Party Parliamentary Group, said: “This announcement is a further demonstration of the Conservative Party’s commitment to North Wales, as the A55 was in the 1980s and 1990s.
“Quicker and more reliable connections will bring economic and social benefits to North Wales and will help the Levelling Up of places such as Rhyl.
“They will also be instrumental in binding the country together.
“This £1 billion investment will transform North Wales’ public transport infrastructure, getting more people off the roads and on to trains, and giving the North Wales economy the shot in the arm it desperately needs.”
Robin Millar, MP for Aberconwy, said: “This unprecedented £1 billion investment into North Wales will put London within three hours of the university city of Bangor, and within two hours of north-east Wales. This would transform inward private investment and enable remote working for most of the population of north Wales, especially the more deprived parts of north-west Wales.
“It will promote the advanced manufacturing cluster which exists across north-east Wales, Cheshire and Wirral – a leading global advanced manufacturing cluster with an economic output of £35 billion per annum.
“Better quality, faster access to London, Manchester and the rest of the UK rail will unlock further private sector investment and growth for this sector. It will also help to support jobs in Aberconwy’s crucial tourism sector by cementing our status as a world leading visitor destination.”