Rail replacement bus services too full to take pupils

SCHOOLCHILDREN were left behind when rail replacement buses laid on following a landslip in the Valleys were too full to take them.

Pupils from Treorchy Comprehensive School were temporarily stranded when the bus laid on by Arriva Trains Wales did not have enough capacity.

It meant that some parents had to drive their children to the Rhondda Cynon Taf school, with other pupils forced to wait for a later bus.

Emma Coburn said her two sons and two nephews were stranded at Dinas station on both Monday and Tuesday after the buses were too full.

But Arriva said it had “tried to supply the best coverage possible”.

A landslip following bad weather on Sunday caused part of the Rhondda line to be blocked, and it was still blocked yesterday afternoon.

It meant a replacement bus service was laid on between Treherbert and Porth.

Ms Coburn, from Williamstown, said that as buses didn’t stop at Dinas on Monday or Tuesday, she took her children by car to Porth on Wednesday to make sure they got a space on the replacement New Adventure Travel bus.

But even “almost full”.

She wrote on Twitter: “Thanks, Arriva. Another day, another bus, too full to let my kids on, only 1 stop after Porth.

“Back and fore Treorchy twice yesterday and again today, now. Shocking, Substandard, Unsatisfactory: I could go on. Get your act together.” there, she said it was

She said: “A ‘replacement bus service’ should be just that: a replacement. Not one bus that can only carry half of what the already inadequate train, can. Disappointing at best.

“I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect them to source buses from somewhere, so that there is some semblance of a service, rather than leaving children standing in the rain, when the bus is filled at the first stop?

“I appreciate they couldn’t foresee the landslide, but surely more adequate transport could have been sourced, even if the companies used weren’t local.”

MP for Rhondda, Chris Bryant said: “Whilst the landslip was an unforeseen incident, Arriva are to be found wanting for their lack of emergency planning for events such as these.

“It is simply unacceptable school children have been that left stranded in the dark and cold, without a way home or information on replacement buses.

“I urge Arriva to work with local travel providers to ensure that all passengers can use and are aware of the alternative arrangements, and there is suitable alternative transport provided, especially at peak times.”

The line is expected to remain closed today, Arriva confirmed.

In response, a spokesman for Arriva said: “We have tried to supply the best coverage possible. We are limited by the number of vehicles bus operators have available for hire at short notice, taking into account existing contracts they have in place.

“Bus operators have existing school run contracts which makes it difficult for additional road transport to be sourced.”