<p>The Wales and Borders Franchise</p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:54 pm on 17 October 2017.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 1:54, 17 October 2017

‘Yes’ is the simple answer. But, of course, this is not a devolved area. The budget is held by the UK Government; it’s for the UK Government to make good on its promise. I share his concern that, in time, as we see different trains being introduced over the years, the fact there’s no electrification will mean, in time, that the inter-city trains will stop in Cardiff because there is no mode of traction able to take them further west. Yes, we do have bimodal trains now. Yesterday’s launch was perhaps not the most auspicious launch, as the first train broke down. The second one seemed to be cascading water over people because of a fault with the air-conditioning system. But we hope that those issues, clearly, are resolved for the good of the economy of south Wales. But a promise was made to the people of Wales; that promise was broken by the same party. What worth now is any promise from any Conservative Government if they’re breaking a promise that was so publicly made?