UK-Welsh rail agreement published today sets out joint working under Great British Railways
The UK and Welsh governments have published a formal agreement setting out how they will work together on rail under Great British Railways, with the document signed today by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and Ken Skates, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales.
The memorandum of understanding, published on 25 March 2026, is provided for under Clause 24 of the Railways Bill and covers the Wales and English-Welsh borders network.
Great British Railways, which will take over track and train operations across Great Britain, is targeted for establishment in 2027.
The agreement sets out how both governments will collaborate on service planning and infrastructure ahead of and after that transition.
Ms Alexander said the Welsh Government would have “a new, strengthened role and a bigger say in how the railway is run for local communities.”
She described the agreement as being about “improving passenger experience by aligning how both governments plan and manage rail services, including cross-border travel.”
Mr Skates said: “This agreement outlines the strong partnership between our 2 governments to deliver for the people of Wales.”
“We have already seen the joint commitment to a generational investment in our railways and this agreement ensures even closer working as we deliver improved rail services for passengers.”
The agreement covers six areas: joint planning of services and infrastructure; a new locally focused GBR corporate structure for Wales and the borders, to be known as GBR Wales and Borders; formal partnering arrangements between GBR and Transport for Wales; a framework for cross-border services; arrangements for the Core Valley Lines; and governance of enhancement investment through the Wales Rail Board.
The cross-border element is directly relevant to rail users in north-east Wales, with services between Wrexham, Deeside and Chester among those that cross the border.
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said the agreement was “backed by a generational UK government commitment to modernise Welsh rail, starting with building 7 new stations using the £445 million announced at the Spending Review.”
One of those seven stations is Deeside Parkway, a proposed new stop on Deeside Industrial Estate, one of the largest employment sites in Europe, which would for the first time give workers a rail link between the estate and Wrexham, Chester and Liverpool.
Ken Skates confirmed earlier this month that the station is funded and in the design stage, with a target completion date of late 2027 and an experimental modular build method intended to cut construction time.
Ms Alexander’s ministerial statement to the House of Commons, published alongside the press release, said the MOU “represents the culmination of months of intensive, collaborative work” and that Network Rail and Transport for Wales would now begin developing a formal partnering arrangement “on behalf of GBR.”
The Wales Rail Board is retained as the strategic forum for reviewing funding, business plans and delivery of enhancements.
The agreement is described in the ministerial statement as offering “greater transparency for Parliament, the Senedd, industry and the public.”
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