Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:50 pm on 24 January 2017.
We have no intention of repeating the mistakes made by the UK Government with regard to the last contract. She rightly refers to what the former Member for Ynys Môn, Ieuan Wyn Jones, said. He was in charge of transport for four years, but there was little that he could do because of the fact that it wasn’t devolved. His frustration was shared by me. Better trains, more frequent trains and more modern rolling stock.
One of the problems that we have now is that, actually, it’s almost impossible to procure diesel trains—they’re seen as ancient technology. So, we have to make sure that we see electrification. We have to see the commitment, for example, from the UK Government that it will electrify from Cardiff to Swansea to keep the promise that they made and which they are now reneging on. We have to see the electrification of the north Wales main line as well. That’s hugely important.
In terms of what the trains will look like in the future, at the very least they’ll be hybrids—diesel-electric. But, we have to make sure that that electrification is taken through. [Interruption.] They won’t get ordered—. The franchise is part of the negotiation. The whole point is that you have the negotiation on the franchise, and, as part of the franchise negotiation, you specify what stock the operator has to actually use. That’s part of the franchise negotiations.
She asks a question—a fair question: ‘Will the service be better?’ The answer I give is ‘yes’. I’ve said that, and I’m sure she’ll hold me to account on that over the next few years.