The Welsh Government has been criticised after it spent scores of millions on double-tracking a railway line in England but neglected to improve its Welsh section.
The railway re-doubling by the Welsh Government would have been more beneficial had English bodies provided additional funding, according to the chair of Merseytravel.
Liam Robinson will tell a Welsh Assembly committee tomorrow {28th} that the newly installed double track from Chester to Rossett will not enable major improvements to cross-border services because the last few miles from Rossett to Wrexham will remain single track.
Welsh Government off track on rail improvements
Most of the track, which has been re-doubled with £44m of the Welsh Government, lies in England.
After several delays, the new infrastructure awaits temporary closure of the line for final commissioning.
The Welsh Government has earmarked the small consequential increase in capacity for additional long-distance services between Holyhead and Cardiff via Wrexham.
Mr Robinson says complete double tracking would have allowed improvements to local rail services to tackle congestion on cross-border roads.
‘Had the limitations of the remaining section of single track been better understood from the outset, particularly from a cross-border perspective, English transport bodies and Local Enterprise Partnerships may have been in a stronger position to collectively lobby for an enhanced solution. This could, potentially, have extended to the identification of local funding to future proof the works more effectively.’
He says this example highlights the need for more formal joint working and planning by Welsh and English bodies, at a time when funding is increasingly devolved.
The Welsh Government and Transport for the North have already agreed a Memorandum of Understanding for sharing of information and collaboration on both sides of the border.
