The UK Government has said it will provide a £1 billion investment to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line.
Rishi Sunak announced HS2 will now only run from London to Birmingham and not on to Manchester because of spiralling costs. The £36 billion in savings from HS2 will now be reinvested in transport projects across the country, including north Wales.
The £1 billion investment will bring parts of North Wales within an hour of Manchester through a major upgrade of the North Wales Main Line, including electrification.
It will mean journeys will become more punctual and reliable on the 105-mile route between Crewe, Liverpool, Warrington, Wrexham, and Holyhead, where ferry services run to Dublin.
The funding comes alongside £12 billion set aside for Northern Powerhouse Rail, allowing delivery of high-speed links between Manchester and Liverpool as previously planned.
The Welsh government said it welcomed the proposal but described the proposed £1bn of funding “a finger in the air figure”.
Lee Waters, deputy climate change minister, said the Welsh government had not been consulted on the project.
Mr Waters said the project was “nowhere near the top of the list” of rail priorities in Wales and it will take “at least 10 years”.
“We have no idea of the cost of it. A billion pounds has been quoted, this is a finger in the air figure and I’ve no idea where that’s come from,” he said.
Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said Wales was still owed “billions in funding” for spending on the first phase of HS2.
