Calls for Transport for Wales to cancel new diesel fleet
RAIL passengers usually look forward eagerly to new rolling stock, but now there are calls for new trains on order for Wales and Borders services to be delayed or cancelled.
In 2018, Transport for Wales said it would use mock-up seats to gather feedback from passengers on the future Class 197 diesel trains which will ply long-distance routes from 2022.
However, it fixed the specification, including the same model of seat as in the new Great Western Railway trains, without seeking passengers’ feedback.
Passenger groups have pleaded in vain with TfW to reverse its decision to provide just one toilet on each twocoach long-distance train – half the current number.
Some rail-users say now is the wrong time to be building new diesel trains, which should last for about 30 years, because electrification of more railways is on the cards.
TfW says the new trains will be more fuel-efficient than the existing ones, and will increase capacity and cut journey times.
Rail-user Thomas Wheeler said TfW should hang on to the existing trains, which he claimed “are far superior for long-distance work”.
In a letter in passenger group Railfuture Cymru’s magazine, he said he hoped production of the coach bodies in Spain could be stopped before exceeding 40.
“I fear there is at best now just a matter of months remaining before this number is exceeded,” he said. “Should the full fleet be built, the worst impacts of the Class 197s will be felt.”
Fellow Railfuture member Jim Maggs said TfW thought it knew what’s best for passengers, without asking for opinions.
“They should be ashamed of their decision-making,” he said.
“I know that there are many senior train-operating company managers that are privately angered by what is happening.”
He also criticised politicians for accepting whatever officials and academics told them. “There just isn’t any scrutiny,” he added.
Jeff Smith, chair of the Shrewsbury
Aberystwyth Rail Passengers Association, said the reduction in toilets was a concern.
He added: “Further, Network Rail have just published a comprehensive strategy to decarbonise the entire British railway network, therefore ordering a full fleet of diesel trains would appear to be a wrong step.”
The Welsh Government, which owns TfW, wants the UK Government to fund further electrification, covering more of the lines where the new trains will run.
Mr Smith added: “The new trains would not even provide much of an increase in capacity on the Cambrian lines as so many of them would have only two carriages.
“It would be beneficial for TfW to delay the new trains and redesign them, in the meantime taking into account feedback from their consultations.”
A Transport for Wales spokesman said the trains’ construction was welladvanced, with testing due to begin next year.
“Prior to recent Covid-19 service reductions, we were committed to having 120 trains in service per day,” he said. “From 2025 we will have expanded this to 168 trains in service per day; 77 of these will be Class 197s, providing a significant increase in the capacity of our Wales and Borders fleet.”
The number of long-distance trains with three coaches instead of two would increase from 16 currently to 26.
He also said: “When choosing our fleet, we must consider the needs of all. In designing our new trains, we have worked tirelessly to find what we believe to be a balance between seating capacity and accessible toilets, seating layout, bike space and passenger comfort.”
Improvements would include:
■ wide doorways for easier access;
■ better storage areas for luggage, pushchairs, prams and bikes, separate from dedicated areas for passengers with disabilities;
■ faster acceleration, enabling a future revamp of timetables; and
■ reduced fuel consumption and emissions.
“The delivery of our new trains from 2022 will allow us to provide faster, more frequent services across the Wales and Borders network,” said the spokesman.