Plaid Cymru Warns Rail Bill Fails to Deliver Control or Funding for Wales
Plaid Cymru has warned that the UK Government’s proposed Railways Bill threatens to lock Wales into a flawed funding and governance system while failing to devolve control over the nation’s railways.
The warning comes ahead of the Bill’s first debate in the House of Commons. Ann Davies MP, Plaid Cymru’s transport spokesperson in Westminster, said that while the legislation may streamline rail operations in England, it leaves Wales without meaningful control over its own infrastructure and ignores billions in funding the nation loses each year.
The Railways Bill aims to create Great British Railways (GBR), a single body integrating track and train operations, centralising long-term planning, ticketing, and service management for England. However, Wales would remain tied to an “England and Wales” structure, despite transport being partly devolved. Plaid Cymru argues this leaves Welsh ministers with only a consultative role rather than genuine decision-making power.
Critics also point to ongoing issues with the split responsibilities for Welsh rail. Different governments manage separate sections of the network, complicating planning and preventing coherent investment strategies. Meanwhile, the Bill makes no effort to address funding inequities, particularly the billions Wales has lost due to the misclassification of major English rail projects such as HS2, East-West Rail, and Northern Powerhouse Rail. Designating these projects as “England and Wales” schemes, despite none of the work taking place in Wales, avoids triggering Barnett consequentials—funding that Scotland and Northern Ireland do receive. Recent analysis suggests Wales could lose roughly £6 billion because of this approach.
Ann Davies highlighted the disparity with Scotland, which has had full control of its rail network since 2005 and produces its own Long-Term Rail Strategy. She said,
“This bill makes sense for England. However, it does not work for Wales. It fails to address our lack of control over the Welsh rail track, where two governments manage different parts of what should be a single network. This split makes planning railways in the best interests of the people of Wales almost impossible. We can see this in the broken promise to electrify the South Wales Mainline beyond Cardiff, or even to start work on the equivalent line in the north. Scotland, by contrast, controls its rail network and sets its own strategy, giving Scottish ministers real influence over Great British Railways. Under this Bill, Welsh ministers can only ask to be consulted – Wales does not want consultation, we deserve control. This Government is following the old adage: 'For Wales, see England.' It is a travesty that a nation which built the first steam locomotive, supplied the steel and coal that powered the UK’s railways, is the only nation in Great Britain without control of its own network. Plaid Cymru is clear: Welsh rail should be in Welsh hands. It is time to devolve rail to Wales.”
The debate over the Railways Bill is set to highlight longstanding tensions over transport devolution, funding fairness, and the future of Welsh rail governance.
Image: Plaid Cymru