UK government pledges seven new Welsh stations and £14 billion

The two governments expect more than 12,000 jobs to be secured in Wales; around Cardiff Parkway station (800,000 passengers a year) some 6,000 jobs are to be created in the industrial area. Construction of the first two stations begins in 2029.

At a meeting between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan, a plan for seven new railway stations was agreed which, according to their joint statement, is to secure more than 12,000 jobs in Wales. The stations (Magor and Undy, Llanwern, Cardiff East, Newport West, Somerton, Cardiff Parkway and Deeside Industrial Park) are funded from about half a billion pounds of the current budget; six of them lie on the South Wales main line, while Deeside, north of Chester, is part of the upgrade of the Wrexham–Liverpool line. London had already pledged £445 million (about €510 million) in June 2025; Starmer now holds out a long-term package of £14 billion (about €15 billion) for 43 further projects over the next 15 years, including new halts on the Cardiff Valley Lines, reopened stations in north Wales and electrification of the lines to Holyhead and Llandudno. Construction of the first two stations begins in 2029, and the Cardiff Central rebuild, which is already under way, is due to be finished by then (LOK Report, 23 Feb 2026; second source: New Civil Engineer, 18 Feb 2026).