In his regular blog for Caerphilly Observer South Wales East AM Lindsay Whittle gives his take on recent news.
Rail Services
Observer readers may be aware of the issues surrounding the popular Energlyn and Churchill Park station in Caerphilly.
You have the ridiculous situation where many of the trains running between Rhymney Valley and Cardiff don’t stop at what is virtually a brand new station, built at considerable cost to the public purse.
Rail bosses told me that infrastructure improvements and/or “improved rolling stock performance capabilities” were necessary before more trains can stop at Energlyn station.
In the last financial year almost 70,000 passengers were recorded as entering or leaving the station. Imagine, how many more than would be if all trains stopped at the station. Some passengers locally end up catching a train at Caerphilly’s main railway station, rather than Energlyn. That can’t right.
More people than for many, many decades want to use the railways for work and leisure purposes but shortcomings such as trains not stopping at stations doesn’t help.
What we need is action now, not promises that sometime in the future improvements will be made. Local people must not be short-changed and we need the Welsh Government, Network Rail and Arriva Trains Wales to get together soon to try and sort this out.
Young People
During questions to the Communities Minister, I asked about what the Welsh Government can do to provide more access to voluntary work and internships for younger people from poorer backgrounds, such as those in Caerphilly constituency.
I know, many young people find access to better and higher-paid jobs becomes a lot easier when they have internships or voluntary work experience that they can point to. Often, in a competitive job market, this can mean the difference between getting and losing out.
Many of our young people from poorer backgrounds simply don’t have the means or opportunities to be able to do these things. I stressed the importance of levelling the playing field for younger people from poorer backgrounds.
The Minister accepted that young people from more deprived backgrounds, perhaps, haven’t got the necessary contacts and work experience for young people from Communities First areas was one area of focus for them.