Rail travellers to benefit from new carriages
RAIL commuters across Wales will see new carriages rolled out across the network as part of a multi-billion pound investment in rail services across Britain.
Passengers will see refurbished carriages on Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) routes and new hybrid intercity trains on Great Western Railway routes from the summer.
Figures released by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) reveal how many new train carriages will come on track by 2021.
The £361m investment for GWR includes an extra 208 carriages, formed of 29 five-car trains and seven nine-car trains.
The group added that refurbished additional carriages will be arriving on to the Wales and Borders network this year as a part of the development of class 769 “tri-mode” trains, which will be able to operate on diesel, overhead and third rail electrified networks.
The carriage trains will provide additional capacity on some of the busiest commuter services in Wales and will release units to be passed right across the ATW network.
Figures revealed earlier this month showed ATW rolling stock is almost six years older than the British average of 21.1 years – which itself is older than at any point in publicly available records and 60% older than in 2006.
The age of Arriva Trains Wales’ stock increased by 1.6 years to 27 years compared to 2015 when the average age was 16, Office of Rail and Road (ORR) statistics show.
The ORR has previously said older trains can result in worse reliability, less comfortable journeys and poorer performance than modern versions, although it notes older rolling stock can be refurbished. Great Western Railway saw its average rolling stock age decrease by 1.4 years to an average of 32 years.
ATW said that in response to customer and community feedback, 60 carriages on 17 routes on the Valley lines have undergone a new year £500,000 refurbishment.
365 litres of paint and 915 metres of window film has been used in the refurbishment – enough to paint 16 tennis courts and stretch to the top of the tallest building in the world.
Free wi-fi has also been installed on all of the renovated trains.
ATW engineering director Simon Hughes said: “Even at the end of our current franchise, it’s really important to us that we continue to invest and improve to ensure that we prepare for the exciting changes which are coming down the line for our customers.
“Older trains such as our Valleys fleet need to be cared for to ensure that we provide the best possible experience from our available rolling stock.”
In response to the ORR figures, an ATW spokesman said previously:“The rolling stock in our fleet was allocated to us at the start of the franchise in 2003, with much transferring over from previous franchise agreements.
“While our rolling stock is older than many other train operators in the UK, we are proud to have invested significantly in refurbishing it, spending millions of pounds in the process despite only being asked to invest £400,000 at the start of the franchise.
“This includes all our Class 158 fleet and our Pacers.”