Cabinet Secretary praises “incredible progress” on new Deeside railway station
Plans for a new railway station at Deeside Industrial Park have seen “incredible progress,” according to Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates.
Deeside Industrial Park, a major employment area and is well served by major roads but experiences local congestion during peak times.
Currently, the nearest station is Hawarden Bridge, about 2km (6km by road) from the park’s main employment zones, limiting its usefulness for workers who prefer rail travel.
Transport for Wales, Network North Wales, Flintshire County Council, and partners are developing proposals for a new station on the Wrexham Central to Bidston line running through the park.
The station is planned north of the park, between Zones 3 and 4, inside the A548 ring road. Journey times from Wrexham or Bidston are expected to be under 30 minutes.
Speaking to Deeside.com during a visit to Padeswood cement works sidings on Thursday, Mr Skates (pictured above) said: “Quite incredible progress has been made on that (Deeside Parkway railway station).”
“I’m mightily impressed with the work that’s taken place, and pretty stunned by the option that’s being presented. Rough timescale (for work to begin), depending on consenting. I don’t want to guarantee this, but best case scenario, we’ll be looking at around about a year.”
Asked about the project’s economic impact, he added: “It’s huge, in terms of taking traffic off the roads as well, it’d be really good. To decongest the area. So that’s really exciting.”
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens (pictured above) said the station is a “specific project that’s been agreed” and confirmed discussions are ongoing between the Department for Transport, Welsh Government, and Wales Rail Board about project priorities over the next three years.
She highlighted wider transport investments, including new and faster trains and reopening sidings at Padeswood, saying: “It’s really good news. And we’re in the investment zone here that the government have put £160 million into to attract businesses to invest in the area, to create new jobs. And we want the transport to be there so that people can get to those new jobs. This is what this is all about.”
Asked about ongoing UK Government funding for Wales regardless of political changes after the Senedd election, Ms Stevens said: “The key thing is, if you look at the infrastructure strategy that was unveiled very recently, there’s reference to funding for Welsh rail upgrades, and that reference also provides the assurance that this is the beginning of a process.
“What’s happening now is we are investing in programmes that can be delivered in three years, but also in programmes that are going to have to be delivered over a longer period.
“Once you start on rail, you don’t finish it, and with this particular programme of Network North Wales work, we’re not introducing any new track, what we’re doing is utilising all existing tracks. So it’s not like HS2, where you’re ploughing through a huge amount of land with new tracks, that enables us to complete the works once they’ve started.
“I’m confident, regardless of what happens in May, we will still have a UK Government that will invest in Wales.
“The key thing is, will we have a government in Wales that is competent enough to make sure that that investment is fully utilised?”
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