'Bottlenecks' on N. Wales rail line set be cleared with new rail funding

BUT PLAID DECRY 'BOOST' AS 'FLIMSY FIGLEAF'

- By OWEN HUGHES Business Correspondent

MAJOR bottlenecks holding back rail expansion in North Wales are set be cleared as part of the UK Government's additional funding for Wales.

Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves, has confirmed a £445 million boost to rail funding in Wales which comes after decades of under-investment in the Welsh network.

Part of that money will be spent on a vital improvement to the Wrexham-Liverpool line, as well as upgrades to the North Wales mainline.

Last month, Welsh Government Transport Secretary Ken Skates put forward plans for increased train services between Wrexham and Bidston (Liverpool) to two trains per hour within the next three years.

But to expand it further he said works were needed at the Padeswood cement site on the line in Flintshire. The current infrastructure creates a blockage at this point when freight trains come in.

But the new funding announced will now pay for an investment in changing that at the site. This will allow four trains an hour to run between Wrexham and Liverpool.