With regard to that specific point that the Member spoke about last, I can confirm that our position is still that we are not looking at any reductions in services into Wales, or any reductions in station accessibility, and we'll be working with the UK Government and with Network Rail to that end. That includes Neath station.

Now, if we look at how you can improve journey times whilst maintaining stations such as Neath on the main line, you can first of all look at station improvements, you can look at signalling improvements, points improvements—it's a fact of the matter that the trains that are currently operating on the Great Western line have the potential to travel up to 140 mph, but because of poor signalling, poor points and so forth—those factors that I've already identified—and too many level crossings, there's only one point on the entire line that they're able to travel at 125 mph. So, before you even look at the major components of rail infrastructure, you should first look at signalling, points and crossings, in order to improve the speed at which trains can travel. That would reduce journey times between London and Cardiff, and beyond into west Wales, before any consideration would need to be given to the actual track or stations. So, I can say we're not looking at any reductions. We don't just wish to protect stations and services and the provision of services to stations in Wales; we wish to see them enhanced, and that includes to Neath station.

In terms of the promotion of a national railway, I'm not sure whether the Member was referring to a national railway in terms of track and train—a vertically integrated national railway. I think that's what the Member is referring to. The fact is that, at the moment, though, as the Member pointed out, we do not have devolution of responsibility or funding for rail infrastructure. I'd be very concerned about taking forward the idea of using our own money, in whatever way, shape or form it might be, to supplement for historic underfunding of rail infrastructure in Wales. To me, that would be akin to raising a white flag to a Government that has underinvested in our railway infrastructure to the tune of it being only 1 per cent of investment across the UK in the latest control period, in spite of the fact we've got 10 to 11 per cent of track miles. Now, I know that the Member's suggestion for a national railway might look attractive, but is he also proposing, as part of a national railway, given that he's spoken about the need to have connectivity within Wales that does not necessarily have to include connectivity outside of Wales—? Is the Member suggesting that we therefore have new tracks constructed in parallel to the existing network, for example between north and south Wales, in Powys, that actually run in parallel to existing infrastructure? Because I think, actually, for the most part, people are content with the infrastructure that is in place. What people are not content with is the quality of the infrastructure, which is holding back not just the availability of frequent services but also holding back the speed at which trains travel. I think most people in Wales would wish to see investment channelled into the existing infrastructure to ensure that trains travel more frequently and travel faster, whilst at the same time making sure that franchise agreements are in place that drive up the quality of services that run on the track.

The Member suggested that the statement doesn't speak of connecting Wales internally. Well, the whole point of our metro developments in the north, in the south-east and in the south-west is to better connect communities within Wales. These are hugely ambitious. Indeed, the committee that the Member sits on called them heroically ambitious proposals that we're taking forward, and later this month we'll be considering, at Cabinet, the preferred bidder for the next franchise, and the development partner for the metro, which is, as I say, designed to ensure that our communities are better connected within Wales. Also, in terms of better connecting communities, the ambitious proposals that will be consulted on in the coming months, concerning reform of local bus services, will again demonstrate our determination to ensure that, whether it might be rail or buses, active travel or a combination of all, we are investing more heavily than before, and have more ambition than ever before in terms of connecting together our communities in Wales.