North Wales electrification planned by 2035 as Welsh Government insists things are different

Plans to electrify the North Wales Main Line (NWML) are different this time, insists the Welsh government’s Transport Secretary Ken Skates.

Skates unveiled the new Network North Wales plan at the Transport for Wales Public Transport Summit in Wrexham on May 22.

The ambitious plan includes doubling the number of Wrexham-Chester services from next May, increasing services on the Wrexham-Bidston line within three years, and bringing forward a new timetable for the North Wales Main Line from December 2026 to May 2026.

Pay-as-you-go ticketing is due to be rolled out, and the Welsh government also said it would put metro services at the heart of a “high-frequency public transport network for North Wales”.

Network North Wales also includes preparation work for NWML electrification within five years, with an aspiration of wires being up by 2035.

Talk of electrifying the route has been raised by Conservative governments between 2010 and 2024, but nothing has come to fruition. The most recent was the Network North document of October 2023.

Asked what made this plan different, Skates said: “Electrification as it’s been promised in recent times hasn’t been based on proper hard graft to determine cost, the best solution, the best delivery method.

“What we’re going to do is put the resource into the hard work of building that compelling business case to attract UK government funding.

“It may be, as we’ve demonstrated with the South Wales Metro, that discontinuous electrification is the affordable and best solution to pursue - certainly one that’s less inconvenient for passengers and for communities, because it requires less disruption.”

The 2023 announcement suggested the cost would be £1 billion. No figure has been attached to the new plans, but Skates admitted the Welsh government “recognises that we live in a competitive world and we need to put the best case to attract that funding”.

Given Wales is reliant on central UK government for funding, the Welsh government is also hoping to set up a Welsh business unit alongside the creation of Great British Railways. It is planned that this will then “have a say over how money is spent in the Wales and Borders area” and “be accountable to authorities and passengers” on both sides of the Wales/England border.

“One of the problems that we face is that if you don’t have certainty of funding over time, you can’t actually commence big projects,” said Skates.

“Now, you can set out the plans to do so, but you can’t guarantee that they’re going to be completed if the funding isn’t there.”

Network North Wales also includes the earlier-than-planned introduction of a new NWML timetable.

Network Rail has previously said a series of foot crossings at Abergele and Prestatyn must close before additional trains can run.

In February it showed off a plan to install a bridge to replace a pair of crossings at Abergele, where there have been reports of six near-misses and 14 incidents of misuse in two years, as well as two fatalities in 2019.

The crossings are used by dog walkers, families and holidaymakers, while the line speed is 90mph.

The new timetable will allow Transport for Wales to run Llandudno-Liverpool trains, with the operator increasing its services along the route by 50%.

The Wrexham-Bidston Borderlands Line will be rebranded as the Wrexham to Liverpool Line. The route currently has an hourly service, but there are plans to increase that to two within three years and to four by 2035, when it’s hoped Wrexham trains will run directly into Liverpool.

Network Rail said improved line speeds and targeted work at Padeswood is needed to support additional services. No infrastructure changes are needed for more services between Wrexham and Chester.

Skates also announced that he had authorised Transport for Wales to look at procuring new rolling stock for the region.

Longer-term aspirations include capacity improvements at Chester station, Metro-style services south of Wrexham to Gobowen, and the resignalling and electrification of the Marches Line to Newport.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “On the Marches Line, additional capacity south of Wrexham is being developed. This is subject to funding approval, but would include signalling upgrades such as an intermediate block signal at Gobowen and better integration with existing level crossing systems.”