Msmurf wrote:Another report full of good ideas.....but how much will ever be built?
There many a slip twixt cup and lip but I'm reasonably optimistic about this one.
The key is that it requires the support of both the Welsh and the UK governments.
The support of the Welsh Government can be taken as a given, what ever the result of next year's election. It also has access to the circa 1.6 bn of borrowing powers that weren't drawn down following the rejection of the M4 relief road scheme. I would expect the Welsh Government to use some of that that money to deliver the bus and active travel elements of the scheme. However they won't be willing to chip in for rail infrastructure spending which (apart fro the CVL) is non-devolved.
So the rail part would fall on the UK DfT and Network Rail.
Given that Lord Burns is widely respected in Westminster and that the UKG is looking for schemes that both boost infrastructure investment post-covid and "strengthen the ties that bind the Union"it could be an attractive proposition.
It's a clever move to suggest that the new stopping trains would run between Cardiff and Bristol rather than, say Cardiff and Chepstow. It will ensure buy in by WoE politicial leaders and cross-border connectivity is a real buzz word for a Government that's sh***ting itself about the break up of the UK.