Wales needs a hydrogen highway

It is extraordinary to think that Wales was most connected internally and with the wider world a century ago, in the years leading up to World War I. In those days it was possible to travel from virtually any point in Wales to anywhere else of significant size by the main means of transport at the time – the railways. And as far as the wider world was concerned our major ports were connected with all points on the globe, with stocks of Welsh coal piled high in South America, Cape Town, China, Japan, and all points in between.

This was the high point of Welsh engagement with the wider world and it was no coincidence either that this was the most prosperous period in our history. It was also a high point for Welsh identity as well. The railways contributed significantly to the developing sense of Welsh nationhood in the golden Edwardian age.

Since then our communications have retreated to such an extent that we are now the most disconnected part of Britain, both within Wales as well as externally to the rest of the world. There is no doubt that this is contributing significantly to our economic problems.

This weekend I shall be speaking about this at Plaid Cymru’s conference in Aberystwyth. I will be seconding a motion being proposed by Cynog Dafis, the former AM and MP for Ceredigion and North Pembrokeshire, calling for a raft of policies to improve communications for Wales.

At present there is a tendency to link the north-east of Wales to Merseyside, mid Wales to the English Midlands, and the south-east to Bristol. Of course, we need good transport links with England to access the markets there for Welsh products. But we also need fast and effective links within Wales to counterbalance the pull to the east.

A glance at the Welsh road network reveals a ‘figure-of-eight’ pattern that links the four corners of the country. Improvements have been made to much of this network, though there remain significant gaps, for instance between Carmarthen and Aberystwyth. In any equivalent European country the network would be dual carriageway throughout. However, in Wales this is only the case along the east-west sections – the A55 across the northern coast, the M4 in the south and its extension to Carmarthen and St Clears– together with the A470 from Cardiff to Merthyr.

We should develop the ‘figure-of-eight’ spinal network by widening the roads to provide hard shoulders to give passing opportunities for faster moving traffic. These hard shoulders would also allow provision of a regular coach public transport service throughout the route. It should become known as a ‘Hydrogen Highway’ service with depots at regular intervals allowing the coaches to use this carbon friendly fuel.

Such innovative, practical and affordable policy thinking follows naturally from applying a national, one Wales perspective to our economic circumstances. That’s what we need, but it has been sadly lacking in Labour’s London-centric approach in the 16 long years it has been in charge of the Welsh Government.