NEWPORT should consider a tram-like light rail system, an Assembly members' report says.

An investigation the future of Welsh railways also called for improvements to the Severn Tunnel and the London-South Wales service.

The Assembly welcomed the report and said it agreed with many of the recommendations.

Wales currently has no urban light rail system, the report from the Enterprise and learning committee said, and that it is thought Newport, Swansea and Cardiff could benefit from such a scheme.

It said the Deputy First Minister had told the committee it was looking at light rail as an option, and the report called for the Assembly to hold a feasibility study into the idea.

Meanwhile it also called for the Severn Tunnel, which emerges near Rogiet, to be adapted for electrification.

The UK government is currently planning to electrify the track from London to South Wales to reduce journey times.

Despite being opened in 1886, the committee heard evidence the tunnel could be used "for the foreseeable future".

It also called for the Assembly to work with First Great Western to cut out Swindon, Didcot and Reading from the London route.

With electrification journey times could be cut to 1 hour 25 minutes if the stations were missed, the report said.

An Assembly spokesman said it welcomes the report and agrees with many of the recommendations, which it said are already being developed as part of the National Transport Plan.

"The Minister will now consider the detail of the report and respond fully in due course," he said.