Prime Minister Keir Starmer has endorsed a sweeping £14bn blueprint to transform Wales’ rail network, confirming plans for seven new stations and almost £445m in immediate funding to accelerate delivery.
Starmer will today formally back the long-term programme drawn up by Transport for Wales alongside First Minister Eluned Morgan.
Funding allocated through the Spending Review is intended to kickstart a pipeline of work projected to support 12,000 jobs across Wales and sustain a decade of rail construction activity.
Seven new stations are now in the frame: Magor and Undy, Llanwern, Cardiff East, Newport West, Somerton, Cardiff Parkway and a new stop serving Deeside Industrial Park.
Five of the proposed stations — known as the Burns stations — between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel Junction have secured £90m over the next four years. Construction is due to begin this year, with Magor and Undy expected to complete first.
Cardiff Parkway, long linked to the Hendre Lakes business park development, will also move forward under a joint approach agreed by the UK Government, Welsh Government and private investors. The wider scheme is forecast to support around 6,000 jobs.
Ministers have additionally earmarked £60m to redevelop Cardiff Central station, bringing total UK Government backing for the project to £78m. Work is scheduled to start in spring 2026, with the bulk of construction due for completion by 2029.
Elsewhere, £40m will be used to increase line speeds on the South Wales Relief Lines between Cardiff and the Severn Tunnel, creating capacity for additional passenger and freight services. A further £30m is being invested at Cardiff West Junction to allow more frequent Core Valley Lines trains.
In North Wales, improvements around Padeswood are designed to relieve freight bottlenecks on the Wrexham–Liverpool route, enabling two trains per hour and supporting the planned Deeside station. Around £30m has also been allocated for safety and service upgrades on the North Wales Coast Main Line, including replacement footbridges at Prestatyn and Abergele.
Behind the headline schemes sits a 43-project enhancement programme overseen by the Wales Rail Board, bringing together the Welsh and UK Governments, Transport for Wales and Network Rail.
Transport for Wales estimates the full programme of schemes under consideration could cost up to £14bn, subject to future Spending Reviews.
If fully delivered, ministers say the investment could generate £6.3bn in wider economic benefits, add 13.3m rail journeys annually and remove 3.8m car trips from the road each year.
Construction activity alone is expected to create more than 6,000 jobs, alongside over 1,000 permanent roles once the upgraded network is operational.
