Wales 'should get a lot more' of UK's rail cash

The Welsh economy is losing out because of a lack of rail investment, a transport expert has said.

Prof Mark Barry said Wales should be getting a lot more money, but because spending was controlled from Whitehall, England was more of a priority.

The first minister said she was doing everything she could to get more cash for the country's railways.

The Welsh Conservatives said Wales should be getting its fair share of HS2 funding.

The Labour UK government said investment was key to its priorities, but rail investment was run from the Department for Transport in London rather than the Welsh government.

Prof Barry, from Cardiff University, said that meant Wales was down the queue for cash.

He said: "We get about 1 to 2% of the funding available but should get a lot more.

"In an ideal world you’d be looking at 5 or 6% of the total UK investment in rail enhancement, but if you don't invest in essential economic infrastructure - specifically in energy, transport and housing - then you can't really expect your economy to turn a corner."

He said the amount of cash Wales was asking for was tiny compared with what had already been committed to English railways.

"The TransPennine Express Group Upgrade is a £10bn capital programme over 15 years," he said.

"In Wales we've worked up over the last five years £2-3bn in very good business cases for rail investment, and the challenge is how is that going to get funded":[]}