OFF THE RAILS!
Chaos as scores of trains in Wales cancelled due to staff shortages day before launch of new services:
MAJOR questions were being asked last night over Transport for Wales’ ability to staff new Sunday rail services launched today. It comes after further misery for passengers yesterday when almost 60 TfW trains were cancelled due to crew shortages.
Christmas shoppers and people attending parties and other events were among those affected in the day before TfW introduces a 40% rise in Sunday train services on top of its normal timetable.
The scale of disruption was unusual for a winter Saturday with no extreme weather, suggesting that TfW does not have enough train crew to maintain its existing timetable as well as running 186 additional Sunday services this weekend.
The extra Sunday services are great news for many communities, especially Maesteg – which has never had trains on a Sunday before.
Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog will also gain year-round Sunday services from today, and there are extra trains on the Cambrian lines in Mid Wales.
However, the new services mean that fewer drivers and conductors will take Sunday as a rest day.
There were already signs that TfW Rail Services, the company which runs the Wales and Borders franchise, may not be employing enough staff.
Last summer there were so many cancellations – many of them because a driver or conductor was not available – that TfW Rail Services was issued with a formal “performance improvement notice”.
Yesterday TfW cancelled at least 36 services entirely because of train crew shortages, with a further 23 cancelled for part of their timetabled journey for the same reason.
For example, the 8.30am from Manchester Piccadilly to Carmarthen got only as far as Crewe, 40 minutes down the line. Normally it would provide a service into Cardiff Central from Abergavenny, Pontypool and Cwmbran in late morning.
The 11.09am from Carmarthen to Manchester was started from Cardiff Central, depriving Carmarthen and Llanelli passengers of a train to Swansea and Cardiff.
In Mid Wales, trains were cancelled between Aberystwyth or Machynlleth and Shrewsbury via Newtown and Welshpool, and on the Shrewsbury to Swansea line via Llandrindod.
Cancellations planned for last night were set to affect people travelling to Ebbw Vale, Chepstow, Barry, Maesteg, Barmouth, Pwllheli, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Bangor, Holyhead, Aberystwyth, and Tenby, among others.
In Cardiff, the shuttle between Cardiff Bay and Queen Street was due to stop running before 11pm.
Replacement bus services were also being run to cover for a lack of trains.
Some rail users used Twitter to vent their frustration at the cancellations and delays.
Dad-of-two Rhodri Jones said the disruption with the TfW train services is a stark contrast to the “efficient” services in London.
Mr Jones had planned to take the Neath to Cardiff service with his 11-year-old son in a bid to avoid traffic and reduce their carbon emissions. But the cancellations caused havoc with their journey.
He said: “I’m a food safety consultant who travels throughout London daily, Monday to Friday, where public transport is excellent and efficient.
“My 11-year-old son and I took the train today from Neath to Cardiff for the first time in many years, thinking we would avoid traffic and parking congestion as well as lessen the environmental impact by taking public transport.
“So far there has been a delay reroute and now the news that 30 train services have been cancelled affecting the return journey. All in all, not a great advert for Transport for Wales.”
Another traveller criticised the service from Pontyclun, describing it as a “joke”.
“Tried catching the 11.50am, once again train overloaded and not able to get on with my daughter,” they wrote.
“This also happened three weeks ago. Another 30 or so people also missing the train. When is this going to stop? More trains are needed at Pontyclun.”
Another wrote: “12.07pm from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury cancelled. I don’t pay almost £100 to sit on a replacement bus for a 1/3 of my journey and miss all of my ongoing connections. Terrible.”
Wales on Sunday asked TfW whether the cancellations were down to TfW not having enough staff to cover the extra Sunday trains on top of the existing timetable, and whether this would lead to more cancellations in the coming weeks.
A TfW spokesman responded: “We are continuing to do everything possible to ensure the maximum number of services are operating every day and this time of year can always be challenging, particularly on weekends, and we’re sorry that there have been a number of cancellations on our network today.
“As always, we are very grateful to colleagues who gave up their own time to volunteer to work overtime and rest days.
“This weekend will see a major transformation in our timetable where there will be a 40% increase in Sunday services, and at the same time more and better trains will be introduced to our fleet.
“Over the past few months we have been meticulously planning and preparing for the new timetable by recruiting additional staff and we’re confident that customers will see a real change as we introduce the additional services including extra capacity across our network.”
It is understood that the Sunday services depend on drivers and conductors volunteering to work on Sundays. The new Sunday shifts are likely to affect availability of staff on other days of the week.
The policy of the Aslef union is that train drivers work no more than 44 hours in every seven days.
Chris Pearce, head of operations for Network Rail Wales and Borders, said: “There are changes right across our network that passengers need to be prepared for, including new Sunday services on some lines that have not received a Sunday service before.
“The whole timetable change will deliver a substantial boost for passengers and the economy across South Wales and we’ve been working very closely with our partners at Transport for Wales and GWR to encourage passengers to plan ahead.”
The new Sunday services are a flagship improvement under the new franchise, awarded by the Welsh Government in June 2018.
At the time, transport minister Ken Skates said: “From December 2019 there will be a 22% increase in Sunday mileage, including Sunday services from Maesteg, and additional services to destinations across Wales with increased connectivity to border regions.
“This will establish a true seven-day service with new Sunday services and earlier starts on most routes.”