YesCymru has demanded a fully funded timetable for transforming Wales’s railways after the UK Government announced just £30 million for Cardiff Parkway in its Budget, eight months after backing a rail investment programme estimated to cost up to £14 billion.

On 18 February, then Prime Minister Keir Starmer and then Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens endorsed the programme, with then First Minister Eluned Morgan indicating that the projects would take around 15 years.

Delivering £14 billion over that period would require investment averaging approximately £933 million a year.

The £30 million announced in the budget represents just 0.21% of the programme’s estimated cost. If allocations of that size were made once a year, reaching £14 billion would take almost 467 years.

Rob Hughes, Chair of YesCymru, said:

“The £14 billion figure grabbed the headlines before the Senedd election, but since then the Westminster Government has only committed £30 million so far.

“Investment in Cardiff Parkway is of course welcome, but the question is where the funded timetable is for delivering the transformation promised across Wales?

“A £14 billion programme over 15 years requires investment averaging nearly £1 billion a year. Announcing £30 million for one station does not answer that challenge. Repeat that amount annually and reaching £14 billion would take 467 years.

“Wales needs a credible delivery programme, with funding and deadlines people can hold the UK Government to.”

YesCymru said the gap between ambition and delivery must be seen alongside Westminster’s continued refusal to reclassify HS2 as an England-only project, despite its route lying entirely in England.

The movement has long supported calls for Wales to receive fair consequential funding from HS2. Earlier estimates cited by YesCymru put potential funding at around £5 billion.

Rob Hughes added:

“For decades, Westminster governments of all colours have ignored Wales’s demands for fair treatment. Governments change, the excuses change, but Wales is always left waiting.

“On HS2, Wales has been denied fair consequential funding. On the Crown Estate, our campaign secured the backing of every Welsh council, yet Westminster still refused to transfer control.

“How many times must Wales make its case before we accept that the problem is who holds the power?

“That is why we need independence. The future of our country should not depend on whether Wales matters enough to the government of the day in Westminster.

“With independence, the people of Wales would set our priorities, control our resources and hold our own government accountable for delivering them.

“We deserve the power to build a better future for everyone who calls Wales home.”