Railways in Wales are to see a real-terms cut in funds in the next five years with the UK Government directing a "managed decline", the minister responsible for transport in Wales has said. There will be more speed restrictions, reduced reliability, more service failures, and either stagnant or worsening performance because of the funding Network Rail is planning to allocate to Wales over its next five-year spending plan, which starts next year, Welsh Government deputy minister Lee Waters said.
Mr Waters used a speech to the Rail Cymru conference in Cardiff on Thursday to launch a furious attack on the UK Government and accuse Network Rail of giving Wales the second-worst settlement in the UK between 2024 and 2029, which it calls Control Period Seven. Mr Waters said it would mean a real-terms funding cut of 0.1% in cash terms at a time costs were going up.
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