Plaid demands talks to get more cash for Wales' railways

Plaid Cymru's new transport minister has asked for talks with the UK government to demand better rail funding for Wales. Mark Hooper said successive UK governments had failed to address a "long-standing symbol of unfair rail funding" over High Speed 2, which is classed as an England and Wales project. Hooper said £445m announced for new stations last year "falls far short" and called for a "more ambitious" level of funding. A Labour source said the UK government plans to "right the wrongs of historic underinvestment". Plaid Cymru had promised at the May election to push for greater funding and powers from Westminster. While a small number of lines in the south Wales valleys are maintained by the Welsh government, most rail infrastructure is the responsibility of the UK government. Previous Welsh governments have long complained that Wales' rail network has suffered from under investment. The large sums of money spent on HS2 ramped up those grievances. It was recently announced that the scheme could cost up to £102.7bn and may not open until 2039. England-only schemes generate a consequential sum of money for Welsh budgets, but because HS2 was classed as an England and Wales project