Business leaders in Wales are urging ministers not to deviate from plans to introduce a metro transport system in the south of the country and resolve the dispute over rail electrification.

The UK and Welsh governments each claim the other has responsibility for the project in the valleys, the BBC reports.

Electrification is a key part of the metro scheme, which would involve trains, buses and trams, and improve transport links between Cardiff and the rest of south-east Wales.

Rail industry expert Ian Walmsley believes trams would be cheaper and more effective than trains in the long run. He claims they would cut  journey times by 25 per cent at only 60 per cent of the overall cost of replacing new heavy trains.

Chris Sutton, chair of the Confederation of British Industry in Wales, said: "The balance of those different modes of transport may well shift in the future but there is a plan there and let's really work on trying to deliver that at the moment."