Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 2:30 pm on 7 March 2018.
Well, maybe I can help the Cabinet Secretary out a little here, because some of the answers have been provided for us now through the strategic environmental assessment on the south Wales metro that Transport for Wales have had to produce, and publish, under European regulations, albeit slightly under the radar. This document, and the accompanying maps, confirm that the Ebbw Vale electrification project has been—and I'm quoting directly here from the material now published by Transport for Wales—'discontinued from future consideration'.
Similarly ruled out is connecting Trelewis to near Quakers Yard, joining the Merthyr and Rhymney lines to create the so-called circle line of the Valleys, proposed by Mick Antoniw. It rejects an extension from Merthyr to Dowlais Top, but it does confirm a brand new on-street light rail service between Cathays Park and Cardiff Bay, replacing the current bendy bus. Now, Cabinet Secretary, you're getting £125 million to spend on the metro from the UK Government. When you asked for it, your Government promised it would be for the electrification of the entire Valleys lines network. You're now cancelling that, in just the same way as the UK Government did with electrification to Swansea, while continuing to spend on a bullet train for the bay. The Conservative Government were rightly accused of selling out on people who live to the west of Cardiff. Isn't the Labour Government now doing exactly the same to people who live in the Valleys to the north?