Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 2:05 pm on 13 February 2019.
When the details of the new train franchise were announced, it was revealed that the new headquarters would be located in the Treforest area. Now, I'm of the view that this was a missed opportunity to locate a major employer in an area where jobs, particularly well-paid jobs, are even more scarce than they are in Treforest. The Heads of the Valleys area in my constituency, places such as Maerdy, Ferndale, Treherbert, are examples of places where the new transport headquarters would have made a big difference to the local economy, and gone a long way towards rectifying decades of neglect. Since you earlier welcomed pressure from Members, I would like to know what other opportunities there may be to ensure that the communities that I represent in the Rhondda benefit from the new rail franchise. Can you tell the people that I represent how, in the future, the Rhondda can directly benefit from employment opportunities under the new rail franchise?