Plaid Cymru renew calls to devolve rail infrastructure to Wales

Stephen Price

Plaid Cymru has renewed calls to devolve rail infrastructure to Wales, in line with Scotland and northern Ireland, following the release of statistics showing that Wales has the highest train cancellation rates of all UK nations.

Data highlighted by the BBC, from the Office for Rail and Road, has shown that Wales has the highest percentage of railway stops cancelled between 18 August 2024 to 16 August 2025, at 3.9%, compared to 3.5% and 2% in England and Scotland respectively.

The statistics show that 6 of Wales’ 10 busiest railway stations had a cancellation rate higher than the UK average. In Scotland, none of the 10 busiest stations in the nation were above the UK average.

A Plaid Cymru MS has attributed this high rate of cancellation to the historic underinvestment of Welsh railways, over ‘decades of consecutive UK Governments, both red and blue’.

Several different sources, including the Welsh and UK Government, have admitted an underinvestment of several billion pounds into Welsh railway enhancements.

Plaid Cymru’s transport spokesperson, Peredur Owen Griffiths said that Wales had been underinvested in ‘for decades, without even mentioning the £4billion from HS2’.

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Disappointment

Mr Owen Griffiths went on to say that Welsh railways would never operate as effectively as the people of Wales deserve, until powers over rail infrastructure were devolved to Wales.

Plaid Cymru transport spokesperson, Peredur Owen Griffiths MS, said: “These statistics will come as a disappointment, but not as a surprise to the thousands of people in Wales that rely on our trains here in Wales. Too many of them have stories of cancelled trains and days ruined.

“The UK Government should hang their heads in shame about the dire state of Welsh railways. The connection between the billions of pounds of historic underinvestment, of the lack of electrified railways, and the sky-high cancellation rate is as clear as day.

“Despite the obvious impact the UK Government’s snubbing of Welsh infrastructure has on our railway services, they continue to deny us of the £4billion we’re owed from HS2, and won’t even start to undo the damage of underinvestment in decades gone by.

“The powers over rail infrastructure must be devolved to Wales - the UK Government has shown itself incapable of investing adequately in Wales, and it’s time we were allowed to do it ourselves.

“Both Tory and Labour Governments have kept this scandal going, proving that all the Westminster parties don’t care about Wales. Only Plaid Cymru are serious about investing in Welsh communities to improve the services available to the people of Wales.”

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"We could revolutionise our railway and transport systems"

As part of their manifesto, Plaid Cymru write: "We believe that rail infrastructure should be devolved to Wales, as it is in Scotland and Northern Ireland, allowing rail infrastructure planning for Wales to be decided in Wales.

"Only 1% of UK Government capital spend is on railways in Wales, reflecting both current and historical underspend. While London and major cities in Scotland were connected by electrified railway more than fifty years ago, it is only in the past decade that Wales has even had a single mile of electrified track.

"With that £4,000,000,000 additional funding, we could revolutionise our railway and transport systems, including properly connecting north and south Wales for the first time within Wales, reopening major railway lines closed under Beeching, electrifying the North Wales Main Line, improving existing railway services, and increasing and improving services west of Swansea.

"To do that, Wales needs an ambitious travel plan that also considers public transport connections in the south Wales Valleys and other areas of Wales which do not have existing rail connections – including by use of trams or light rail."