Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:52 pm on 13 March 2018.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 1:52, 13 March 2018

Well, the Ebbw Vale line was not included in the original spec for electrification. That does not mean, of course, that there won't be more frequent services on the line. That will happen. Now, when it comes to the metro itself, as I'm sure Members are sick of me saying, the metro was something that I first mooted, many years ago, in—of all places—Bedwas rugby club. There is a map that's been published, including different phases of how the metro will be developed. It's not simply a question of upgrading what is already there. It does mean looking at, for example, new light rail links, particularly where there are existing heavy rail lines that are not in use. It does mean looking at the way buses interact with both light rail and heavy rail. We've shown our commitment, of course, by making sure that we have control of the track itself, to make sure that we're not in the hands of Network Rail, over whom we have no powers to direct. We fully intend to move forward—and we've allocated money for this purpose—with better trains, more convenient trains, a reasonable price, an integrated network and, of course, more frequent trains, and that's exactly what the metro will deliver.