4. Will the First Minister make a statement on the pace of change needed for transforming rail services in Wales? OAQ(5)0341(FM)

Rail infrastructure is not devolved. Following years of underinvestment, we are taking steps to address this where we can through our procurement of the Wales and borders franchise and the metro. But it’s true to say that the UK Government must do more to invest in Wales or devolve power and funding so that we can.

Given that Network Rail has said that it’s going to take 28 years to bring the rail industry up to the standard required in Wales, which seems to me much too long in the light of the discourse we had about road congestion earlier on, I’m pleased to hear you mention the importance of light rail in that context. Looking at the south Wales metro, I just want to look at how light rail can run much closer together, which means that trains can slow down and accelerate much more quickly, which means that journey times from, say, Merthyr, would be reduced from over an hour to 40 minutes, which is competitive with the car. So, I want to have some understanding as to how vehemently the Welsh Government is proceeding with light rail for the south Wales metro, which, it seems to me, will deliver the outcomes that we want.

Yes, the metro will be a mixture of light rail, heavy rail and faster bus services. There will be some lines that will be more appropriate for light rail than others. I need to add at this point that we have made absolutely clear to the trade unions that if we move towards light rail in some Valleys lines, that is not a reason to cut jobs or terms and conditions. We absolutely know that it’s hugely important that those who are working on those lines now have the same terms and conditions in the future as they do now. Ken Skates is not Chris Grayling. He won’t thank me for that comparison, I don’t think, but there we are. And we are to work with the trade unions in that regard. But, of course, the advantage of light rail is its ability to extend into parts not just of Cardiff but of Valleys communities where heavy rail is not going to go because of cost and because of topography. The metro that we have foreseen is one where we have a combination of fast transport options that form part of that. We can’t wait for Network Rail to get its act together. We’ve had issues with Network Rail where it’s not clear that they actually know what the condition of the asset is, or whether there’s a proper survey or whether it has been for 25 years, but we want to make sure that we get on with the metro to serve our communities as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

First Minister, you’ll be aware of last week’s announcement by the UK transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, as you mentioned, with regard to joint management teams for rail franchises, and also that the new varsity line between Oxford and Cambridge, announced in the autumn statement, will be designed, constructed and run by a new body called East West Rail, totally separate from Network Rail. So, following that announcement, do you agree there is scope to develop a different model for railway management here in Wales by establishing a Welsh version of East West Rail, and where funding decisions around railway infrastructure would be made here in Cardiff and not in London? If so, given recent announcements, will you step up efforts in making the case to the UK Government with regard to the devolution of the management of the railways?

I think it’s pretty fair to say that we’ve been relentless in that regard. We have 9 per cent of the track. We don’t get 9 per cent of the investment. Another issue that we have been pursuing with vigour with the UK Government is the situation that currently exists in the Wales Bill where it will not be open to the Welsh Government to consider a public sector agency to run the railways, whereas the Scottish Government will be able to do that. It’s clear discrimination, bluntly, if you want my view on it. So, from our perspective, it would be far easier if the track and the operators were dealt with in the same way. The same organisation. It’s too easy for the bodies responsible for the track, Network Rail and the operators to blame each other when there are problems. It’s far easier to have an integrated system rather than the fragmented one that we have at the moment.