Lessons learned, says TfW official
“LESSONS have been learned” after chaotic scenes on Wales’ trains in Cardiff on Saturday night, a senior official at Transport for Wales has insisted.
Services were packed following Wales’ World Cup qualifier against Belarus in Cardiff.
As reported in Monday’s Echo, images from late-night services showed people packed into carriages and the aisles full of passengers, unable to socially distance and many without masks.
It is the law for face masks to be worn on public transport in Wales unless someone is medically exempt.
It is not clear from the images if all those who aren’t wearing masks are exempt.
The game finished shortly after 9.30pm and thousands of fans who were there, along with thousands more watching in city centre bars, made their way to Cardiff Central railway station to head home.
Reports from the night said the pressure on carriages eased at Newport,
but as it was the last service of the night, people had no option but to cram onto the service.
The Echo asked Welsh Government finance minister Rebecca Evans what action is being taken to stop the scenes being repeated.
She said: “It is really important that all public transport plays the role that it has in terms of people, keeping people safe and risk assessments are an important part of that.
“Obviously, we’re working closely with Transport for Wales to make sure that people understand the responsibilities on them as passengers when they when they get on to those trains and and also with other public transport providers, in terms of mask wearing, for example, so we need to see there is more signage, but also more announcements on those trains to ensure that people are aware of what’s required of them.”
She said the Welsh Government was “talking to” Transport for Wales about the number of trains available after international games in particular.
Transport for Wales’ chief operating officer Marie Daly said 600 people tried to travel between Cardiff and Newport after the Belarus match and “because of the issues we had with buses”.
“We apologise for the impact that had on customers,” she told BBC Wales. “We have taken the lessons learned into this evening’s game with enhanced services after the game.”
She said that since Wales rugby’s autumn international series had started at the Principality Stadium just over a fortnight ago, 6,000 masks had been handed out to fans travelling on services.
“On trains that are as busy as you’ve seen over the weekend, it is really hard for British Transport Police to get through those services.
“So we really need people to work with us and to take responsibility for wearing face coverings.”
She added: “The role of British Transport Police is to understand why people are not wearing face coverings and that’s out first port of call.
“If people refuse to wear a face covering, then we have had instances where we have refused travel because people won’t comply with the legislation.”