Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 1:36 pm on 7 February 2018.
Well, I'd very much agree with the Member. Wales has an abundance of fantastic rail tunnels that could be utilised for the purpose of cycling and walking, particularly for the tourism sector, and I'm pleased to confirm that we have awarded Merthyr Tydfil council up to £25,000 in local transport funding for the current financial year in order to undertake Welsh transport appraisal guidance work on the Abernant tunnel. And the Member is also right that that partiuclar tunnel did come top of the list. Five tunnels were shortlisted for further work: Abernant, Rhondda, Pennar, Tregarth and Usk. Abernant was considered the most likely to be able to deliver in the short term. And we're also considering a request for an additional £40,000 in this financial year to undertake a structural survey for that particular tunnel, to inform the potential longer term maintenance costs of the asset.