Electric buses and Snowdonia gateway improvements part of £11m funding for North Wales

More than £11m has been allocated to travel schemes across North Wales as part of the region’s metro project.

The money was announced today by Transport and North Wales Minister Ken Skates in a bid to support sustainable ways of travelling, improve safety and reduce carbon emissions.

Over £7m of the funding will go to local projects delivered by local authorities including electric buses and town centre improvements.

This includes £3.6m for six electric buses and provision of charging points for a new TrawsCymru T22 between Caernarfon – Porthmadog- Blaenau Ffestiniog and a T19 TrawsCymru Connect bus service between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno.

The new services and investment follows detailed planning work with Gwynedd Council to strengthen the quality and attractiveness of key bus services in the area.

Around £2m of funding will go towards the A4086/A4244 junction improvement scheme which will improve access to Llanberis, a key tourism destination and gateway to the Snowdon Sherpa bus service. This will include active travel and safety improvements.

There will also be investment in early development works for hydrogen hubs in Holyhead and Deeside.

Funding is also allocated towards the Holyhead Breakwater, and improvements to Mold, Buckley and Caernarfon town centres.

Mr Skates said: “The North Wales metro is key in delivering an integrated, improved and efficient transport system for the region.

“I’m pleased today to be able to announce funding for a number of different schemes, including electric buses and charging infrastructure, active travel routes and improvements to town centres.

“These investments are now more important than ever. As we face this challenging time we must plan for the future we would like to see, which is greener and more sustainable for all of us.”

Among the other schemes, investment is proposed for development work for an active travel route between Sandycroft and Broughton in Deeside, which when completed would link existing routes through Queensferry and Sandycroft to key employment sites in Broughton including Airbus.

A further £4m has also been allocated to Transport for Wales towards their work on the North Wales Metro.

This includes the development work for improved rail services and stations.

Active travel access to stations will be developed in collaboration with local authorities and a review of the bus network across the region will be completed with options for improvement.

The funding will also allow Transport for Wales to support the Yr Wyddfa Partnership with their development work on sustainable solutions to address transport pressures in the national park to protect the environment, communities and the tourism economy.