The UK Government has committed to funding seven new train stations in Wales, including a contribution to the proposed Cardiff Parkway mainline project. It has also endorsed a long-term pipeline of rail enhancement schemes worth billions of pounds.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has given his backing to a wish list of projects set out in a new vision document from Transport for Wales, which over the long term could see £14billion worth of investments across Wales – although that will be a matter for future Westminster governments.

More immediately, he has confirmed that his government will provide the finance to deliver six new stations between Cardiff and the Severn Tunnel, as well as a new station at Deeside that will support efforts to increase the capacity and frequency of train services between north Wales and Merseyside.

READ MORE: Wales bucks UK trend with a fall in unemploymentREAD MORE: Watchdog called in to investigate WRU deal with Y11 amid new Ospreys twist

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There is currently no additional money for rail enhancement projects in Wales beyond the £445m announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her three-year (four for capital) spending review last July, which takes effect from April. However, tellingly, with the Prime Minister name-checking the stations, it should ensure that further spending will be provided in the next spending review – ahead of the expected 2030 General Election – to ensure that projects not completed, or still in pre-construction, are delivered.

When already agreed projects, such as a £77m UK Government contribution to an upgrade of Cardiff Central station, are taken into account, it leaves only around £300m for new projects, alongside £90m set aside to develop plans for other schemes in the current spending review period. While not specifying which stations, work on five is expected to start this year, with construction of two beginning by 2029.

The five Burns stations were recommended by the South East Wales Transport Commission, set up by the Welsh Government after it decided not to proceed with the £1bn M4 Relief Road, and have an estimated cost of more than £300m.

These are: Magor and Undy; Llanwern; Cardiff East; Newport West; and Somerton. Aside from the smaller Magor and Undy walkway station, each has an indicative price tag of £70m. All are currently going through the design process ahead of planning. It is anticipated that the Magor station will be the first to be completed.

The new station in Flintshire will be located at the Deeside Industrial Park. However, to fund that project, the Treasury will reallocate yet to be deployed funding from the North Wales Growth Deal to co-fund the £30m Padeswood siding project to upgrade its cement works freight facility. This will allow freight trains to move seamlessly off the main line into the works, rather than relying on the current time-consuming manoeuvres. Read our political editor’s view on tonight’s announcement here.

The use of North Wales Growth Deal funding for a non-devolved rail asset – similar to the Welsh Government and the Cardiff Capital Region having to commit to half the £140m cost of upgrading Cardiff Central – can be viewed as another example of the unfairness to rail investment in Wales. There have been repeated calls from opposition parties, as well as a sizeable number of Labour Senedd members, for rail powers to be devolved to Wales.

However, the Welsh Government would first need to negotiate a fair budget adjustment reflecting decades of underinvestment in the rail infrastructure in Wales. It would also likely seek a UK Government financial backstop for liabilities, particularly given climate change and the increased risk of damage to rail infrastructure.

While not specifying the scale of its commitment, the UK Government has also confirmed it will provide funding to realise the new Cardiff Parkway mainline station at St Mellons. Of the seven stations, it is currently the only one with planning permission and – subject to discharging planning conditions and further assessment of train service capacity – construction could start later this year.

The station would be integrated into a new 900,000 sq ft business park. There is already strong interest from engineering giant Rolls-Royce, which has appraised the site as suitable for a potential new hub that could create thousands of high-skilled jobs. The business park element alone could support up to 6,000 jobs.

Rolls-Royce, which is understood to be also be considering two rival sites in the north-west of England, has evaluated Parkway favourably due to its own rail station, access to a skilled workforce, proximity to nine universities across south Wales and western England, and the security offered by a 200-acre site with close rail links to both Cardiff and Bristol.

Alongside UK Government funding, Transport for Wales would take a long lease to operate the station, with a privately funded securitisation deal against future rents providing upfront capital. TfW’s leasing costs would be covered by increased ticket sales and car-parking income.

The UK Government said it had agreed a plan with the Welsh Government and private investors to take the project forward, with additional funding made available to deliver the station. The company behind the project, Cardiff Parkway Developments, is owned by Investec and the Roberts family, with a 10% equity stake held by the Welsh Government.

The Prime Minister said: “For too long, Wales has been let down by a UK Government unwilling to do the hard yards and build the future it deserves.

“This government is turning the page on historic dither and delay with seven new stations, thousands of jobs, and a generational commitment to build a rail network fit for Wales’ future.

“This isn’t tinkering or sticking plasters. This is long-term investment – and change communities will feel. This is putting Wales on the front foot and getting Britain building again.”

First Minister Eluned Morgan said: “We are now in an unprecedented position to deliver the next chapter of transformation for rail services in Wales. We have secured long-term commitments to key projects and a renewed ambition for our rail network.

“Changes of this scale don’t happen overnight, but they do happen when there is vision, determination and cooperation. We’ve already proved that with the Core Valley Lines, and we are beginning to see the same momentum with Network North Wales. When you have ambition, commitment and will, real progress follows – and we have all three.”

“Today marks another important milestone as Transport for Wales publishes an exciting and essential pipeline for future investment across the length and breadth of our nation. We warmly welcome the UK Government’s support and its commitment to addressing the historic underfunding of Welsh rail.”

“In the near term, I’m pleased to see backing for essential work at Padeswood and Buckley. This will transform journeys between Wrexham and Liverpool, unlock economic opportunities across north Wales, and allow plans for the new Deeside station to accelerate. I also welcome support for Cardiff Parkway, and we remain committed to working closely with all partners to complete the full business case and development plans.”

Over the next three years, the UK Government will also invest up to £30m in infrastructure enhancements to increase the capacity of a key junction west of Cardiff Central, enabling more services on the Core Valley Lines network. This is needed to increase City Line services from two trains per hour to four, in line with the wider £1.1bn South Wales Metro electrification programme.

The enhancement will be delivered as part of a renewal scheduled for 2028, providing significant efficiency improvements. Further investment will also be needed to increase services on the Coryton Line to four trains per hour through the addition of a passing loop.

Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said: “After years of underinvestment in Welsh infrastructure, this UK Government is modernising and upgrading Welsh rail.

“This investment in seven new stations and other upgrades will boost capacity across our network and transform the experience of thousands of passengers. It forms part of the generational investment we are making to better connect people with well-paid jobs and drive economic growth.”

Vernon Everitt, chair of Transport for Wales, said:”Transport is an enabler of sustainable economic growth, higher productivity, and access to homes, jobs and education, as well as greater opportunity for all. Supporting the Welsh Government’s vision, our ‘Today, Tomorrow, Together’ plan sets out an ambitious agenda to deliver further progress through investment in rail services as part of an integrated transport network.

“In recent years we have delivered major improvements for the people, businesses and communities we serve, including new trains and services, transformation of the Core Valley Lines, and significant enhancements under Network North Wales.

“We now need to go further. Today we set out a potential pipeline of future projects that will bring benefits across the whole of Wales, and I am delighted that both the UK and Welsh Governments have backed this vision.”

Welcoming the funding commitment to Cardiff Parkway, chairman of Cardiff Parkway Developments, Nigel Roberts, said: “We now look forward to breaking ground as soon as possible to bring forward this transformational project for Cardiff and the region.

“This will come as welcome news for the residents of East Cardiff and also provide certainty for those inward investment opportunities we have identified. The site has potential to deliver over £5bn GVA over the next 20 years and create over 6,000 new quality jobs.

” I would like to thank the First Minister, Eluned Morgan for granting planning permission last year and Jo Stephens MP and Vaughan Gethin MS for their tireless support for this project on behalf of their constituents along with Cardiff Council, particularly the local councillors and leader, Huw Thomas, for their unanimous support of this game changing project.”

The drop was “partly” due to a reduction in petrol prices, according to the ONS

Inflation dropped to its lowest point in nearly a year last month, according to recent data, further fuelling optimism that the Bank of England will reduce interest rates in March.

The headline rate decreased to 3.0 per cent in January, as reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), down from 3.4 per cent the previous month. This decline met City predictions and brought inflation to its lowest level since the previous March.

Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, stated the drop was “partly” due to a reduction in petrol prices, which fell 3.1 per cent month-on-month.

“Airfares were another downward driver this month with prices dropping back following the increase in December. Lower food prices also helped push the rate down, particularly for bread & cereals and meat,” he added, as reported by City AM.

Services inflation, which is closely watched by policymakers at the Bank of England as a reliable indicator of domestic price pressures, eased to 4.4 per cent from 4.5 per cent previously.

This was slightly stronger than many anticipated, and may cause the Bank to reconsider before cutting in March, but most analysts suggested the case for a cut remained strong given yesterday’s labour market data.

The data revealed that unemployment climbed to a post-pandemic peak at the end of last year whilst wage pressures significantly relaxed, which should help drive down inflation over the medium term.

“With the labour market data yesterday pointing to ongoing weakness in employment and a further softening in pay growth, most policymakers are likely to look through any short run stickiness in the services data,” Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist at Aberdeen said.

The Bank of England anticipates that inflation will return to the two per cent target this spring, primarily due to reduced energy costs, which could clear the path for additional rate reductions in 2026.

Jonathan Raymond, investment manager at Quilter Cheviot, said: “As the economy barely kept afloat towards the end of last year, and the labour market and wage growth have cooled considerably, the Bank will likely feel increasingly comfortable cutting rates as 2026 progresses.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “Cutting the cost of living is my number one priority. Thanks to the choices we made at the Budget we are bringing inflation down, with £150 off energy bills, a freeze in rail fares for the first time in 30 years and prescription fees frozen again.”

Nomura

Uncertainty overdone: The brokerage said the disruption concerns oversimplify the role of IT services companies. “It is easier said than done that a SaaS product and IT vendors can be replaced by vibecoded apps, given that the enterprise IT buyers optimise for reducing risks of failures and not costs and innovations necessarily,” said Nomura’s analysts. “Tech adoption for newer and unproven technologies remains slow given concerns about compliance, regulatory, business and continuity risks.”

What should investors do: “The current sell-off in IT services stocks appears to be a case of front-loading of pains – pricing in extinction of old business models before gains from new business models emerge,” said Nomura’s analysts. “Transition period is painful, but high free cash flow and dividend yields (4-5%) will likely create a floor for stocks sooner than later.”

The brokerage said valuations are now trading below the last 12-year averages and at a 12-39% discount to last 5-year averages. Its top picks are Infosys, Coforge and eClerx.

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UBS
Terminal Value: The IT stocks sell-off has brought terminal value – the long-term cash-flow assumptions that drive a large part of valuations – into focus as investors are concerned over long-term earnings prospects and growth trajectory of these companies.
“Overall, while we believe there has been some near-term overreaction in our view, the questions around terminal growth cannot be ignored,” said UBS’s analysts. “Companies that accelerate the shift towards non-linearity, invest in IP/platforms, and help clients bridge the AI adoption gap will be the ones to defend terminal value.” Adaptability remains key: The brokerage said it will keep a close eye on how quickly and effectively the IT services companies adapt to pricing model changes, headcount and acquisitions in response to the structural changes.

“The prevailing tone in the market seems to presume a rapid, broad-based automation of enterprise workflows by agentic AI, rendering the traditional IT services model structurally weak,” said UBS’s analysts. “In our view, this isn’t an unfair assumption, but what we believe is that we will see a model transition from linear staffing to solutions and platforms, to outcomes and to problem solving.”

She also visited the Theatre Royal and the Holburne Museum during her trip

Queen Camilla travelled to Bath this week where she visited the city’s Holburne Museum, the historic Theatre Royal and an independent publisher that reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction mostly by women. During her trip to Persephone bookshop on Tuesday (February 17) the Queen, 78, met founder Nicola Beauman and managing director Francesca Beauman.

During the meeting, the trio discussed the importance of creating a 20th-century literary canon based around domestic feminist narratives. They also chatted about the need to rescue lost literary voices and how readers are more used to male literary perspectives on the First and Second World War than female ones.

The Queen also described the new Buckingham Palace library where she is planning to include her Persephone books.

Francesca Beauman said: “We were thrilled to welcome Her Majesty the Queen to Persephone Books. She came to Bath to visit the Holburne Museum, the Theatre Royal and us.

“We showed her round the bookshop, then she sat down at the ‘wrapping table’ and had a cup of tea (‘milk and one’). A tiny etiquette drama as we weren’t sure whether to pour the milk for her, or not! We had a delightful chat about, not to be immodest, why our books are so wonderful.”

She added: “There was a large and affectionate crowd waiting outside as she left, with three of our books, if she ever has time to read them: Crooked Cross by Sally Carson, They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple and Mariana by Monica Dickens.”

During her trip to Bath, the Queen also paid a visit to the Theatre Royal where she watched a preview of a community production of David Copperfield.

She also visited the recently completed Schroder Gallery at the Holburne Museum and toured new exhibitions, including A Life in Print by fashion designer Dame Zandra Rhodes and viewed photographs by Sir Don McCullin.

It was Queen Camilla’s second trip to the South West this month after she visited the HQ of Avon and Somerset Police in Portishead near Bristol.

Red Lobster is considering closing more locations as it continues to reevaluate its restaurant footprint in the wake of its 2024 bankruptcy.

The seafood chain shuttered roughly 130 restaurants when it went through the bankruptcy process and Red Lobster CEO Damola Adamolekun told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that the company is continuing to review its locations and leases as it considers ways to curb costs.

Adamolekun said in the interview that visits have risen, with sales up about 10% from last year, but they haven’t recovered to pre-bankruptcy levels and many of the chain’s locations need upgrades.

“There’s a lot of positive signs, but we inherited a very damaged brand, so there’s still work to do to repair all of that,” he told the Journal.

AMERICAN SEAFOOD CHAIN IS BETTING BIG ON NOSTALGIA AND BARGAINS TO WIN BACK DINERS

Red Lobster is weighing additional location closures as it continues to restructure its business. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in May 2024 after it racked up steep losses amid reduced sales and losses generated from an endless shrimp deal that was originally priced at $20. 

The company is also dealing with the fallout from a 2014 move that sold off ownership of the chain’s real estate and saddled the company with lease payments. 

Some of those leases involve multiple restaurants, which Adamolekun said has made it difficult to close some poorly performing locations because their lease is linked with higher performing ones.

RED LOBSTER’S ENDLESS SHRIMP DEAL CREATED ‘A LOT OF CHAOS,’ NEW CEO DIVULGES ON BANKRUPTCY

Damola Adamolekun was named CEO of Red Lobster in August 2024. (Fortress Investment Group)

The Journal reported that people familiar with the company’s discussions said Red Lobster would ideally have dozens fewer restaurants in its portfolio so that it could focus on higher-performing locations.

Adamolekun was hired as CEO by the chain’s new ownership in August 2024 after he led a restructuring effort at P.F. Chang’s. 

The company has cut roughly 10% of its corporate staff in recent months and the Journal’s report noted that Red Lobster is negotiating with seafood vendors as tariffs have pushed the costs of imported seafood higher.

EXPERTS SAY RED LOBSTER’S SHRIMP EXCUSE IS ‘SMOKE SCREEN’ FOR REAL PROBLEMS

A waitress carries a tray of a lobster kettle and a crab trio dish at a Red Lobster restaurant in Yonkers, New York. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Adamolekun told the Journal that once the company has dealt with struggling locations, Red Lobster could look to expand in upstate New York and New England, where it has a limited presence. 

He’s also considering franchise deals for international locations as well as selling more Red Lobster-branded products, like Cheddar Bay Biscuit mixes, through retail channels.

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FOX Business reached out to Red Lobster for comment.