TfW doing their best, so give them a break

I APPEAR to be on the wrong side of the tracks here, but I feel compelled to defend Transport for Wales regarding criticism directed at the organisation after recent matches in Cardiff.

Cardiff Central is not a hub with many platforms from which trains can depart in all directions, so in my view it stands to reason that there will always be packed platforms on city event days, especially on rugby international days when it has become a traditional day out for thousands of people other than those attending the match. With the city centre teeming with people it is bound to be impossible for TfW to accommodate everyone wanting rail transport home the instant they step into the station.

There has been severe criticism of carriages being packed. Nobody forces passengers to board a crowded train and fans are not compelled to force their way on if they see carriages are full, thus exacerbating the situation.

Blame has also been levelled at TfW for passengers failing to wearing face masks. I presume it would take far more extra staff to ensure this, which I can’t see as their role anyway; it’s the law and therefore should it not be policed by the police? Also, who would like the job of demanding face covering of a carriage of exuberant match fans? Do not civil duty and self-policing come into the picture?

I feel certain that due to Covid staffing issues across all workplaces TfW are no different, so it seems logical that if they had available extra carriages and staff to man and operate them then those extra facilities would be up and running.

Like all organisations, TfW must be working at full capacity with the staff available, so hey, give them a break for just doing their job under very difficult circumstances.

In these days of instant gratification, we don’t have the God-given right to just hop on the next train immediately it arrives at the platform and contribute to it being packed to the gunwales with nonmask-wearing passengers.

Siân Saunders

Gower

We don’t have a Godgiven right to just hop on the next train immediately it arrives at the platform...

Sian Saunders

Baffled how electric cars will be charged

THE Government has laid down net-zero targets that mean motorists in the near future will be driving electric vehicles (EVs) rather than their petrol or diesel-powered equivalents.

Or will we? I say this because I live in a street of terrace houses so am clueless as to how I will charge an EV. If I had off-street parking it would be easy enough to install a charging point, but like millions of others, I do not have that luxury.

I read that trials are taking place for street lights to be converted into EV chargers. There are four lampposts in my street and 26 houses, so how’s that going to work? Some households have more than a single vehicle. Most days I struggle to park in my own street, never mind near my house.

Sorry, but I just don’t see how this will work, and that’s before you take into account the extra cost of buying an EV.

Mrs B Peters

Penylan, Cardiff