The UK and Welsh Governments have announced a long-term commitment to modernise Wales’ rail network, with plans expected to support 12,000 jobs and deliver seven new stations as part of a pipeline of projects estimated to cost up to £14 billion in total.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer formally endorsed the Transport for Wales (TfW) vision for the future of Welsh rail on 18 February 2026, agreeing that it should form the basis of the Wales Rail Board’s pipeline of projects. The commitment builds on existing Welsh Government investment of £1.1bn in upgrading and electrifying the Core Valley Lines and £800m in a new rail fleet.

The 2025 Spending Review allocated at least £445 million to rail enhancements in Wales, with almost half a billion pounds earmarked for the construction of seven new stations. Five of these — Magor and Undy, Llanwern, Cardiff East, Newport West and Somerton — were originally recommended by the Burns Commission, established in 2019 to identify ways of easing M4 congestion. Work on all five will begin this year, with construction of two expected to start by 2029. Magor and Undy is anticipated to be the first completed.

A sixth station, Cardiff Parkway, will be built within the Hendre Lakes development near St Mellons. The station is intended to serve an estimated 800,000 passengers per year and support around 6,000 jobs through its associated business park. Funding will be drawn from a combination of UK Government, Welsh Government and private investment, with the exact contributions to be confirmed following further development work.

The seventh new station will serve Deeside Industrial Park in North Wales, forming part of broader improvements to the Wrexham to Liverpool line. Upgrades at Padeswood and Buckley, co-funded with the North Wales Growth Deal, will remove a key bottleneck and unlock two trains per hour on the route.

Beyond the new stations, the UK Government has committed £59.8 million for Cardiff Central Station, bringing total government funding for that project to £77.8 million, supplemented by £40 million from the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and £21 million from the Welsh Government. Work is due to begin in spring 2026, with the majority completed by 2029.

Up to £30 million is being invested in infrastructure enhancements at Cardiff West Junction to increase capacity on the Core Valley Lines network, while at least £40 million has been allocated to upgrade the South Wales Relief Lines between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel Junction. A further £30 million is being directed to safety and service improvements on the North Wales Coast Mainline, including two new accessible footbridges to replace four level crossings at Prestatyn and Abergele. This work is expected to enable a 50 per cent increase in TfW services from May 2026.

TfW’s published vision, titled Today, Tomorrow, Together: A Vision for Wales across Wales and Borders, identifies 43 schemes with established development work. The programme is projected to deliver £6.3 billion in wider economic benefits, up to 13.3 million additional rail journeys per year, and 55,000 tonnes of CO2 avoided annually. It is expected to create more than 1,000 permanent new jobs directly and over 6,000 during construction.

The Wales Rail Board, which includes representatives from both governments, TfW and Network Rail, will oversee delivery of the pipeline. Exact additional UK Government funding allocations beyond the current spending review period are to be confirmed at future Spending Reviews.

 

RIA Wales & Western Chair Philip Harrison said: “We are pleased the UK government is committing to improving Welsh rail infrastructure, following the announcement of £445m funding for rail projects in Wales at the Spending Review last June. We also welcome the UK Government’s endorsement today of Transport for Wales’s plans for the Welsh rail network in the coming years, and know that this will be welcome news to the Welsh supply chain.

“The development of the schemes laid out today, including seven new stations, will support 12,000 jobs across Wales, drive economic growth, and deliver greater benefits throughout the country. Prime Minister Keir Starmer himself said “transport absolutely drives economic growth”, and recognised the importance of certainty for the supply chain, which this commitment will provide.

“As demonstrated with RIA’s Station Investment Zones model, investment in stations can act as a catalyst for place-based regeneration of local communities, by supporting new housing, commercial development, and improved transport. We and our members look forward to seeing this progress and working with the UK and Welsh Governments, and Transport for Wales, to deliver these major improvements.”