The UK Government has been criticised for overlooking rural Wales as it announced a £14 billion investment in railways in south Wales.

There is also one announcement of rail improvements in Deeside, but nothing else in mid and west Wales.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and First Minister Eluned Morgan have announced new railway stations will be built at Magor and Undy, Llanwern, Cardiff East, Newport West, Somerton, Cardiff Parkway and Deeside industrial park.

In response, Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP said: “Today’s announcement will feel like déjà vu to many people in Wales.

"These stations were already announced in last year’s Spending Review, with funding spread over a decade. Reheating old promises is not the generational transformation Wales was promised.

“While investment in any part of our rail network is welcome, large parts of western and rural Wales remain overlooked, with slow and infrequent services and poor north to south connectivity continuing to hold communities back.

“Wales has been systematically short-changed on rail for decades, not least through the misclassification of HS2, which has deprived us of billions of pounds in consequential funding. Without correcting that injustice and devolving rail infrastructure powers in full, Wales will continue to be reliant on short-term funding cycles and overhyped announcements from Westminster.

“A truly transformative approach would mean fair funding, full powers over rail, and a rail strategy that serves the whole of Wales.”

The governments say this investment will 'see the further transformation of Wales’ rail network, building on the Welsh Government’s £1.1bn in upgrading and electrifying the Core Valley Lines and £800m investment in a new rail fleet'.

However, the Cambrian line between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury has been waiting years for new trains and even longer for an hourly service.

Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said: “For too long, Wales has been let down by a UK government unwilling to do the hard yards and build the future they deserve.

“This government is turning the page on historic dither and delay with seven new stations, thousands of jobs, and a generational commitment to build a rail network fit for Wales’ future.

“This isn’t tinkering nor sticking plasters. This is investment for the long term - and change communities will feel. This is putting Wales on the front foot and getting Britain building again.”

First Minister, Eluned Morgan, said: “We are now in an unprecedented position to deliver the next chapter of transformation for rail services in Wales. We have secured long-term commitments to key projects and a renewed ambition for our rail network.

“Changes of this scale don’t happen overnight but they do happen when there is vision, determination, and cooperation. We’ve already proved that with the Core Valley Lines, and we are beginning to see the same momentum with Network North Wales. When you have the ambition, the commitment and the will, real progress follows - and we have all three.”

“Today marks another important milestone for rail as Transport for Wales publishes an exciting and essential pipeline for future investment.”

The Lib Dems have highlighted that even in Transport for Wales’ £14 billion generational wish list, the document does not mention reopening the lines between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen or Bangor and Afon Wen, which would connect North and South Wales through West Wales.

The party argues this could be delivered with only a small portion of the funding Wales should be receiving from HS2 but is not.

Commenting, Sandra Jervis, Welsh Liberal Democrat Senedd candidate for Ceredigion Penfro, said: “West Wales has once again been left watching from the sidelines while investment is concentrated in a small corridor between Cardiff and Newport.

“Welsh Labour is falsely claiming a £14 billion commitment when the confirmed funding is just £445 million, which was already announced last year and largely focused on one part of Wales. Announcing big projects without the funding to deliver them is exactly what the Conservatives were doing before they lost the general election and is the kind of politics people are fed up with.

“If this is meant to be a generational transformation, it must include the whole nation. West Wales deserves reliable, modern rail links that support tourism, local businesses and economic growth, especially if we are serious about tackling depopulation and growing our regional economy.”