Rail minister Claire Perry has promised through trains between North Wales and Liverpool after the £10m reinstatement of the Halton Curve in Cheshire in 2018.
There are concerns that remapping of the Wales and Borders franchise could result in existing services between North Wales and Manchester being divided between two franchises each side of Chester, where passengers would change trains.
The UK Government intends to transfer Wales and Borders services ‘primarily serving English markets’ to franchises which will remain under its own control after the next Welsh franchise, due to commence in 2018, is devolved to Cardiff Bay.
However, Ms Perry told a rail summit in Llandudno yesterday that North Wales was ‘on a vital cross-border transport system which we mustn’t forget’.
The economic benefits of smaller schemes such as the Halton Curve should not be underestimated, she argued.
‘Those little investments unlock a huge amount of connectivity,’ she said. ‘Direct services between North Wales and Liverpool will run, for the first time in decades.’
Transport for the North board member Liam Robinson, who also chairs Merseytravel, said the priority was to ensure future rail franchises included ‘more and better services which go across the border’ as that would build the patronage which would justify bigger investments such as electrification.
He told Transport Network that existing through services should not be split.
‘We want to see a direct service from Liverpool to North Wales, because at the moment having to change at Chester reduces the number of people who travel. That hinders the economy both sides of the border,’ he said.
