Will the Welsh Government provide an assessment of the economic impact of disrupted rail services in Wales during the construction of Old Oak Common, along with a guarantee that fares for Welsh commuters traveling to London on impacted lines will not increase due to longer travel times?
During the construction of the HS2 station at Old Oak Common there will continue to be periods when Great Western Railway services between South Wales and London will be disrupted. HS2 Limited, Great Western Railway and the UK Government are working to ensure that when the construction work necessitates changes or disruption to services that these are as limited as possible and are communicated to passengers well in advance of the works. We are continuing to work with the UK Government to best ensure that the impact to passengers from Wales is minimised as far as possible. The majority of disruptive works will continue to be planned at times of lower than normal patronage and when there are other major infrastructure works taking place on the rail network such as seen over the recent Christmas period.
The UK Government is responsible for setting regulated rail fares for the Great Western Railway services to London, with Great Western Railway themselves able to set unregulated fares and provide offers to passengers. I expect Great Western Railway to take into account the disruption from the HS2 works and to ensure that they offer value for money fares for passengers.