Pembrokeshire politcians have aimed fire at the Welsh Government for securing "literally nothing at all" in terms of railway investment west of Cardiff.

Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Conservative Senedd Member Samuel Kurtz and Mid and West Wales Plaid Cymru SM Cefin Campbell both criticized the Welsh Government in the Senedd on Wednesday (July 2) for failing to secure financial investment for any railway west of Cardiff as part of the UK Government’s recent Spending Review.

Criticism came from Kurtz and Campbell during a scrutiny session on the work of Ken Skates, the Welsh Government's Cabinet Secretary for Transport.

Mr Campbell referred to a number of examples where investment was badly needed, including alleviating chronic delays on the Heart of Wales line, improving overcrowding and ensuring more regular services on the Cambrian Line and building a new railway station in St Clears.

In June, the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she had delivered everything the Welsh Government had asked for as part of a £445 million package in her Spending Review.

Referring to this, Mr Campbell said in the Senedd:“Why did you ask for nothing – literally nothing at all – to invest in any railway west of Cardiff?

"Because the truth is, not only has the Spending Review delivered very little for railways in Wales, literally nothing has been won for railways in the region I represent.

"Do you think, Cabinet Secretary, that the people of Mid and West Wales deserve less?" he continued, stating that nothing had been done by the Welsh Government towards a new station in St Clears.

Taking the baton on, Mr Kurtz called Mr Skates ‘disingenuous’ when saying that he was not pitting regions of Wales off against each other.

“Here was a project ready to go at St Clears, I'd met with Transport for Wales and DfT officials on the site, there was a project ready to go, yet five stations within 13 miles of each other in Cardiff and Newport get the green light before a project in west Wales that is ready to be delivered!” he remarked.

“So, tell me, Cabinet Secretary, if that's not playing off areas of Wales against each other, what is? Because I've got a community that supports this railway station being reopened at St Clears, it supports the investment that should be coming, that was guaranteed by the previous Government, but your predecessor had said could not be delivered.

“So, why has St Clears fallen foul, when five stations get built in the east of Wales?”

Sharing on social media after the Senedd debate, Mr Kurtz said: “I’ve raised this project a number of times, met with TfW, Network Rail and local councillors on site and heard from the community how needed the St Clears railway station is. We only want one station, not five!

“When the St Clears station project - which has been ready to go for a number of years- gets ignored, it’s hard not to think that the Welsh Labour Government are prioritising one area of Wales over another.”