// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Chancellor's £30m pledge for new train station is an insult, Welsh minister says
Mark Hooper says the cash announced in the Budget was "a tiny fraction" of the investment needed in the Welsh rail system
A £30m rail funding pledge announced by Chancellor John Healey in the Budget is "an insult to the people of Wales", a Welsh government minister says.
Welsh Transport Minister Mark Hooper said the investment in the proposed Cardiff Parkway station was "a tiny fraction" of the cash needed to improve Welsh rail.
The Plaid Cymru-led Welsh government had called on Healey to bring forward £1bn of the £14bn the UK Labour government had promised for long-term rail funding in Wales.
UK government finance minister Emma Reynolds said the cash was part of a £445m package aimed at tackling years of "chronic under-investment" in rail.
Hooper made the comments after a meeting with the UK government in Whitehall on Thursday.
The proposed Cardiff Parkway in the city's eastern St Mellons area would link passengers on the South Wales Metro network to north Wales, Bristol, Manchester and London.
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New railway stations part of £14bn UK government funding promise
On Wednesday the chancellor's Budget announcement confirmed cash for three projects in Wales - £2.5m for a science park in Ynys Mon, £11m for a bridge in Port Talbot and £30m for Cardiff Parkway.