‘GIVE US MORE TRAINS’
COUNCIL LEADER HITS OUT AT ‘POOR’ VALLEYS RAIL SERVICES WARNS THAT HALF-HOURLY TRAINS AREN’T ENOUGH ON ROUTES ARRIVA DEFENDS ITS RECORD, CITING RECENT INVESTMENT
THE leader of one of Wales’ largest councils has launched a scathing attack on “poor” rail services in the South Wales Valleys – claiming there aren’t enough trains.
In a withering assessment, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) council Andrew Morgan warned the area was dogged by “bad transport” and suggested it was a major reason for people leaving the area.
But he said the introduction of the new Cardiff Capital Region City Deal – which will see authorities across South Wales work together to improve areas such as public transport links – offered a ray of hope for commuters.
Coun Morgan, whose Labour party group was re-elected to run the council in May, said the council was determined to push for improvements from Arriva Trains Wales (ATW), which operates services on the Valley Lines.
ATW has been at the centre of numerous complaints in recent years from passengers and politicians concerned about the overcrowding on its services, and the state of its carriages.
The company says it has made a recent six-figure investment in its rolling stock, as well as changes to ease overcrowding on rush-hour services.
Coun Morgan said: “Transport in the Valleys is a huge barrier – a big reason many move out of the area is because of the bad transport, particularly on a Sunday when many trains don’t start until after 11am. What about those people who have to work on Sundays?
“It’s a poor performance from Arriva as far as I’m concerned.
“They say it is good but I don’t agree.
“Why is it that Valley Lines, which carries the vast bulk of passengers across the network, why is it last to have the carriages upgraded with new seating and so on?”
He said he has been lobbying the company since as far back as 2008 – but that now the council has new influence.
“The difference is we had no say over how the contract has been for the last 15 years.
“Now, because of the City Deal, both Welsh Government and local government has a firm say, and we are making them aware of our concerns. We are now able to do something about it.”
According to Coun Morgan, transport officials are now lobbying the contractor for many of the half hourly trains running up to the Valleys to become every 15 minutes.
Mike Hewitson, head of policy at the independent passenger watchdog Transport Focus, agreed with Coun Morgan’s sentiments.
He said: “Passengers using train services on the Valley Lines tell us they are travelling on crowded trains that are often dirty and are well past their sell-by date. Passengers deserve better.”
He added that persistent delays were “diminishing the expectations of passengers”, adding: “It’s important that the Wales and borders rail service is one that people can depend on. The next operator must work to rebuild passengers’ trust.
“Transport for Wales, Welsh Government and the operator of the Wales and borders rail service must continue to listen to passengers and take action to improve future services.”
The current franchise, which sees Arriva running the Valley Lines services, runs out in just over a year. Arriva is among the bidders to run the next Wales and Borders rail franchise.
Lynne Milligan, customer services director for Arriva Trains Wales, said the company has met with Coun Morgan regularly, and that it had invested £400,000 in refurbishing its “pacer” trains, some of the oldest in the fleet, by the end of this year.
She said: “We know that capacity has also been an area of concern, and in May 2017 our major timetable enhancement delivered an additional 600 seats per day on our busiest commuter trains into Cardiff, the majority of which serve the Valleys rail network.
“We have also recently announced additional rolling stock which will be available for us in mid-2018 as a result of a £1.9m investment from Welsh Government and a £1m investment from Arriva Trains Wales.
“We will continue to work with our partners in local and Welsh Government to improve our services and look forward to helping deliver even more improvements in the future.”
The move comes after the company’s announcement in May that around 200,000 new seats would be added to its most crammed lines across the Arriva network.
Earlier this year, a report saw passengers calling for an overhaul of “tired and overcrowded” trains when the new rail franchise is awarded.
In a report by independent passenger watchdog Transport Focus back in June, customers said more seats and more space to deal with overcrowding were their main concerns.
And last year, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood raised the issue of rail overcrowding at the First Minister’s Questions, calling for the rail line in the Rhondda to go from a single to a dual line.
The Rhondda AM, who is a regular user of the Treherbert to Cardiff service, told First Minister Carwyn Jones that passengers in Wales “deserved better”.