North Wales electrification hopes sidelined

The £1 billion electrification of the North Wales Main Line, one of the flagship policies of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s HS2 Phase 2b cancellation ‘bonus’, is all but dead.

The Department for Transport has confirmed that work has yet to start on a business case for the project (the first step before gaining approvals).

NWML electrification was one of several schemes set to benefit from Sunak’s cancellation of HS2 Phase 2b (West Midlands to Manchester) in October 2023, with the redistribution of allocated funds to other road and rail projects.

Principally to improve Holyhead to Euston services, it would have also improved local services from the North West, with electrification of the 126-mile route between Crewe, Warrington, Chester, Llandudno and Holyhead.

At the time, the Welsh Government was dismissive of the plan and declined to champion it, instead calling for the money to be given directly to Wales.

This is despite its own North Wales Transport Commission (NWTC) having recommended electrification of the largely coastal route in its February report.

Pressure for electrification has been eased by Avanti West Coast’s introduction of 13 new five-car bi-mode Hitachi ‘Evero’ Class 805s, to replace tilting Class 221 ‘Super Voyager’ diesel multiple units (DMUs) on trains to London Euston.

But it still leaves the question of what will replace the ageing BR Class 15x DMUs that work the majority of the route, and which are due for renewal in the next few years.

In February, Welsh Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters had told the Senedd: “We’ve long campaigned for electrification of the NWML, and we welcome the UK Government announcing funding, but the UK Government made this decision unilaterally, and the commission makes it clear that other schemes in North Wales would deliver benefits sooner.

“This includes addressing infrastructure constraints to enable five trains per hour, including one express service, to operate on it. If there are billions of pounds available for Wales, then Wales should decide how best to spend it.”

The Welsh Government has now confirmed to RAIL that there is effectively little interest in the scheme and no change in its position.

Asked a series of questions about electrification and the NWML upgrade, the Welsh Government merely told RAIL it is a “reserved matter and the responsibility of the UK Government”.

It said the majority of the NWTC recommendations will be taken forward by the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee in the development of the North Wales Regional Transport Plan, which is in development, supported by Transport for Wales.

For its part, the DfT declined to answer RAIL’s enquiries about the NWML, citing pre-election period conventions. It simply merely referred to a February 23 statement by Transport Secretary Mark Harper, who said it was “too early to say” when the project will start.