Transport Minister sets 2027 target for Deeside station as rail vision faces funding scrutiny
A new railway station at Deeside Industrial Park will be the first built in north Wales since the nineteenth century, Transport Secretary Ken Skates has told the Senedd, with completion targeted for the end of 2027.
Mr Skates made the statement during a debate on a £14 billion rail investment vision developed by Transport for Wales, called ‘Today, Tomorrow, Together’, which sets out a programme of improvements across the Wales and borders network backed by both the Welsh and UK governments.
“It will be the first new station in north Wales since the nineteenth century, and we are on target to complete that work by the end of 2027, which would be quite an achievement,” Mr Skates said.
The station will sit on the Wrexham to Liverpool line and is intended to improve access to what Mr Skates described as one of the largest industrial employment areas in Europe.
He told the Senedd that Deeside industrial estate and Wrexham industrial estate together were “two of Europe’s biggest” but were “very poorly served, historically, by public transport.”
“Having that railway station right there in Deeside industrial estate will address that challenge for people to get to and from job interviews, to and from work,” he said.
Mr Skates said too many people were being shut out of the jobs market because public transport “just doesn’t operate” to major employment sites. He described the station as an “experimental modular” design suited to the site, telling the Senedd the terrain made it viable.
“It’s an incredibly flat piece of line, and it lends itself perfectly to an experimental modular station,” he said.
Carolyn Thomas, Labour MS for North Wales, who has campaigned for the station for a decade, welcomed the confirmation and pressed Mr Skates on delivery dates.
“Cabinet Secretary, we have both campaigned for the Deeside Industrial Park station over the last 10 years, and I’m pleased that it is now happening,” Ms Thomas told the Senedd. “Please can you confirm approximate delivery dates.”
Mr Skates paid tribute to Ms Thomas’s record on public transport in the region, noting her previous role at Flintshire County Council.
“Of course, Carolyn was responsible for public transport within Flintshire council for some time and knows the value of, particularly, bus services to some of our poorest communities,” he said.
The Deeside station is part of a wider north Wales package.
A 50 per cent increase in train services on the north Wales main line is due from May, building on a doubling of services between Wrexham and Chester already delivered under the network north Wales programme. Pay-as-you-go ticketing will roll out across north-east Wales this spring.
Lesley Griffiths, Labour MS for Wrexham, said the plans for the Wrexham to Liverpool line, which will use battery electric trains to provide direct services to Liverpool city centre and the Wirral, would “improve access to jobs opportunities, support more homes, more jobs and more services” across north-east Wales.
The £14 billion figure covers the full vision document over 10 to 15 years. Mr Skates was challenged during the debate on how much of it is confirmed funding. He said the £440 million allocated through the spending review was “a down payment” on 43 projects endorsed in the vision, with future tranches to be agreed at successive spending reviews.
The Wales rail board will produce a priority list ahead of the 2027 review.
Plaid Cymru’s Peredur Owen Griffiths pressed Mr Skates on the funding gap, arguing that without confirmed spending review allocations the package remained aspirational.
Mr Skates rejected that, saying the UK Treasury had endorsed and costed the projects and that the next critical date for additional allocation was 2027.
The £14 billion figure includes optimism bias of around 40 per cent applied to the initial project pipeline, Mr Skates confirmed.
He acknowledged costs could vary, pointing to factors including conflict in the middle east affecting oil prices.
Mr Skates also confirmed Welsh Government support for the proposed Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway open-access service to London, and said new stations at Wrexham north, Wrexham south, Greenfield and Broughton were among sites being considered for future phases.
He told the Senedd that Broughton was “a very big employment district” that was currently very difficult to access without a private car.
“It will, first and foremost, drive fair economic growth across our communities,” he said.
Check live fuel prices near you before you set off.
Spotted something? Got a story? Email news (@) deeside.com
NEW: Add Deeside.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Latest News
