Diolch, Dirprwy Llywydd. This Government’s ambition to see a more prosperous, greener and equal Wales is one I hope we all aspire to in this Senedd. I'd also expect everyone to share our ambition for a modern transport system in Wales, a transport system that plays its part in contributing to three ambitions: delivering economic growth in rural and urban areas; encouraging people to use more sustainable forms of transport in order to minimise environmental impacts; and providing efficient and affordable journeys accessible to all.
As we know, our railway infrastructure in Wales has been continuously and systematically starved of investment. Unsurprisingly, as a consequence, Wales has some of the UK’s slowest inter-city rail speeds, the lowest level of rail ridership, and the highest percentage of car journeys. This is simply not sustainable.
Our metro programmes in the south east, in the south west, and the north will deliver the necessary changes through a customer-focused, integrated, accessible and sustainable multi-modal network across all regions. Trains, buses and the active travel network will work together to connect people and places efficiently and effectively for work, life, and leisure.
To deliver this, however, we require Welsh Government to be in control of all the levers necessary to deliver a fully integrated transport system, and despite the constraints of the current rail ecosystem, in which the UK Government defines priorities and allocates investment according to their own priorities, the Welsh Government has nonetheless funded and progressed the ambitious south Wales metro programme to develop the economy and support regeneration across the Cardiff capital region.
And today, I wish to reaffirm our commitment to our metros and set out our plans to develop similarly ambitious programmes for south-west Wales and Swansea bay, north Wales, and further expansion in the Cardiff capital region. These will build on the current metro principles, but now with an even greater focus on connectivity, decarbonisation, and integration as we develop future phases.
Following the recent triggering of the transfer of ownership and responsibility of the core Valleys Lines, the next phase of this ambitious project will deliver electrification, new trains, faster and more frequent services, and provide the foundation for further and necessary expansion. This ambitious programme to address climate change, improve air quality, and relieve congestion clearly demonstrates what is possible when powers and funding are devolved and decentralised.
Now, until full rail devolution is secured, we need the UK Government to improve wider network capability, capacity and resilience including upgrading our mainlines to enable faster, more frequent, and more reliable services, alongside measures to address network bottlenecks such as Ebbw Valley and junction, between Wrexham and Chester, Cardiff west, and Swansea station.
Now, the spine of our metro in north Wales will be a major upgrade of the Borderlands line to offer turn-up-and-go services from Wrexham, and through working with Merseytravel, deliver services all the way through to Liverpool. We will develop our key hubs, for example at Shotton, to provide an interchange between rail services, as well as integrated bus services across our regional hubs. To effectively deliver integrated, attractive services across the north Wales coast and the Borderlands line, we need new all-stop commuter services to complement faster long distance services running on an upgraded, electrified mainline.
In west Wales and Swansea bay, Transport for Wales has worked with the region to develop an initial package of measures, including new long distance and local metro rail services along the currently under-utilised Swansea District Line, offering reduced journey times from west Wales to Swansea, Cardiff, and across the border.
The new metro services would, via new rail infrastructure, and a number of new stations and strategic park-and-ride sites, connect the urban areas of Swansea and Neath directly to both Swansea High Street and Neath stations, encouraging further development at those locations. Now, we've also progressed work to enhance and expand bus services in the Swansea bay region, which will be integrated with this rail programme. Subject to further business case development, this will be a rolling programme that will start to deliver benefits across the region within the next two years.
In advance of any changes to the devolution settlement in respect of rail infrastructure, I would like the UK Government to work with us to accelerate this programme. We wish to explore more innovative approaches to the application of traditional rail standards to assess the potential for new and/or reopened lines.
Our forthcoming bus legislation will offer us opportunities to significantly enhance and expand our bus services, filling in current gaps in our rail network and offering increased frequency, integration and speeds to our regional hubs. We will assess the potential for segregated busways and public transport priority measures to support further network expansion. These public transport networks will be critical to supporting regional and local economic development and regeneration. It will also allow us to develop places designed around communities.
Our climate change obligations dictate that we progress these ambitious proposals. We need to ensure that decision making on metros in Wales is fully integrated, of course, with regional planning and with wider investment in infrastructure and service delivery. The ongoing development and application of sophisticated transport, land use, and economic models covering the whole of Wales will provide the necessary analytical foundation for these developments. They'll also support our economic and regeneration interventions at key interchanges and at smaller community hubs across the country. In doing so, we want to work with local authorities to locate more of our public services and operations to hub locations connected to these networks.
We're already working on proposals to co-locate more activities near Wrexham General and our plans for Deeside Industrial Park station will offer viable public transport options for commuters. This approach could also have major impacts in Newport and Swansea where commuting contributes to daily peak-hour congestion on the M4.
Now, we're also working to embed the development and delivery of metros across the country to develop local supply chains, to diversify expertise, and expand skills. I have asked TfW to direct effort to develop and deliver our metros and will share further details of progress with Assembly Members.
Finally, Dirprwy Llywydd, to be clear, to deliver these programmes and to address decades of underinvestment by the UK Government in our rail network, we need ownership and funding of rail infrastructure. Wales has, for too long, been low on the list of Westminster's priorities for enhancing the rail network in England and in Wales. Rail devolution will enable us to put this right, building on the recent rail franchise award and infrastructure ownership, which are already delivering results. We look forward to the imminent Williams review and the White Paper to allow us to reform our railways and to create the fully integrated public transport network that Wales richly deserves. The effects of a decade of austerity have been felt across all regions and sectors. Plans by the UK Government to increase spend on infrastructure in this Parliament are very welcome, and Wales's share of this will amount to some £3.7 billion. With this funding, and a fair share of the HS2 spend over the next 10 years, we will deliver our plans to transform urban and inter-city connectivity in Wales.
