Diolch, Llywydd. And I move the motion in my name and in the names of Leanne Wood and Vikki Howells. I apologise before I start for my voice—unfortunately, as you might have guessed, I've not been so well lately, but we'll move on.

Now, Wales is a nation with a great history. And we have many buildings from medieval times that reflect that history—whether it be the many castles that remain visible, or the many religious sites across our country. But we move on a few hundred years and we also have a vast and wondrous industrial heritage, especially from a time when Wales was a driver of major exports such as coal, copper, iron, steel. But it's not only the buildings that produced those exports—the mines and the ironworks, et cetera—that remind us of that industrial past, but also the infrastructure that was put in place to allow those products to be transported. Now, some of that infrastructure is still visible. For example, in my own constituency, we can see the huge arches of the railway viaduct and those of the aqueduct, both in Pontrhydyfen, or the seven arches of the bridge in Cymmer. I'm sure many Members this afternoon, when they speak, will highlight such structures and buildings within their own constituencies. And we all know some of them, whether the Pontcysyllte aqueduct, Big Pit, or the ironworks in Merthyr. But, as well as the visible aspects of our industrial heritage, many of which have been restored and re-established for tourism or walking and cycling, there are many aspects of our industrial heritage that are invisible—mines that have been closed, disused railway lines where the rails have been removed, canals that have become overgrown, and a vast network of tunnels, as well as other infrastructure that once carried the riches of Wales to our ports of distribution across the world. 

The decline of our industrial past took its toll on these across Wales, and in particular in the south Wales Valleys. Add to that the actions taken following the Beeching report in the 1960s, which saw a reduction in the route network and restructuring of the railways across the UK—and that was not popular, remember, because many protests actually resulted in saving some of those stations and lines, but the majority were closed as planned, and Beeching's name remains associated with the mass closure of railways and the loss of many local services in that period that followed. Now, a few of these routes have since reopened. Some short sections have been preserved as heritage railways—the Gwili railway, the Brecon Mountain railway, to name a few in Wales—Colwyn railway, Llangollen. Others have been incorporated into cycling and walking networks, and the remainder have either been returned to their own natural farmland or they remain derelict.

Now, one of those lines affected by the Beeching cuts was the Swansea bay to the Rhondda line. When operational, this route ran through my constituency, from Briton Ferry, which maybe people don't realise was a huge port at one point, going through Port Talbot and Aberavon up the Afan valley, where it branched off to many other routes. Now, these routes often required numerous tunnels, allowing them to travel up the valley and between valleys. The majority are now disused and closed off, including the Gelli tunnel, the Gilfach tunnel, the Cymmer to Caerau tunnel, and one of the longest tunnels in the UK, the Rhondda tunnel, running between Blaengwynfi and Blaencwm, and on the screens you will see a rolling picture of some of the aspects of that particular tunnel. Now, that railway line allowed us to join the railway lines in the Rhondda valley. And therefore it's industrial infrastructure across Wales that we need to see it as an opportunity to be ambitious for the future. We should not lose sight of what these infrastructures actually offer us. 

Now, my remaining contribution this afternoon will focus upon these hidden gems, and, in particular, the Rhondda tunnel, which can offer opportunities for local communities to benefit from their regeneration. And the Rhondda tunnel is 3,443 yards long, or just under 2 miles, 1,000 feet below the ground at its deepest, with a 58 ft ventilation shaft. And it was a massive piece of work, and actually I was dropped down into the tunnel through that ventilation shaft, and you can see the actual fantastic Victorian engineering that built that. That was built between 1885 and 1890, officially opened in 1890, and a critical component of that line, connecting mines of the Rhondda to the ports and Swansea bay. It also became a route for passengers as well, later on in life. So, we had an opportunity, as time went on, not only to have an industrial line, but also a passenger line, to allow that connection between the two communities. The railway line was actually dual line—if you know much about railways—but the tunnel itself was a single line and dual at either portal. 

Now, unfortunately, in 1968 the decision was taken to close the tunnel temporarily, as there was work needed to repair it. But, in December 1970, the Department for Transport made a decision to close that tunnel permanently, citing the costs of repair as prohibitive—strange how it actually coincided with the closure of both the Blaengwynfi and Blaenrhondda stations as part of the Beeching cuts. We can only assume that it just happened to be coincidental. So, that happened, and, in 1980, as a consequence, both portals were closed and blocked off to prevent unauthorised intrusions. Because we know they have to be protected, because many children tend to walk into places like tunnels as an exciting experience and we need to ensure we protect them and safeguard them. 

Now, we're almost 130 years on from when that tunnel was opened. It is the longest disused tunnel in Wales, and the Rhondda Tunnel Society—I know some of the members are in the gallery this afternoon—have established themselves and have a vision—a vision, Deputy Minister, which I share with them; a vision that will see the Rhondda tunnel preserved for our children's future, which will reconnect the Afan valley and the Rhondda Fawr for pedestrians and cyclists, and not just for people in the two valleys, but for people from elsewhere and further afield.