The real reason for train delays is rather complex
The Welsh Conservatives this week criticised the performance of Transport for Wales trains but, as transport journalist Rhodri Clark explains, many of the problems can be traced back to the UK Government
THE Welsh Conservatives had a field day after obtaining statistics showing that more than 10,000 Transport for Wales trains had been cancelled since KeolisAmey, under contract to TfW, replaced Arriva Trains Wales in 2018. Many more trains had arrived late.
Shadow transport minister Natasha Asghar said nothing had improved since the Labour Welsh Government nationalised the railway, but the adage about people in glass houses comes to mind.
Many TfW train delays are attributable to the UK Government, currently Conservative. Network Rail, an arm’s length UK Government body, owns and manages all of the Wales and Borders rail infrastructure except the Core Valley Lines.
In the period from August 22 to September 19, Network Rail was responsible for 40% of delay minutes incurred by TfW trains. TfW itself was responsible for 45% and Amey, which operates the Core Valley Lines, 8%. The remaining 7% were attributed to the impact of other train companies – including UK Government franchises – on TfW trains.
Apart from the Core Valley Lines, Welsh rail infrastructure is not devolved. The UK Government, under both Labour and the Conservatives, has historically given the Wales and Borders rail infrastructure less than its pro rata share of funding. That has a bearing on TfW’s delays and cancellations.
On the north Wales main line, for example, renewal of signalling in 2018 introduced technology for trains to run in either direction on both tracks to reduce delays during disruption. The renewal project was due to extend to Llandudno but was cut short at Abergele because of insufficient funding. Phase 2, for the rest of the line to Holyhead, was cancelled in 2017 when the UK Government allocated Wales and Borders a disproportionately low share of Network Rail’s funding for operating, maintaining and renewing railways in England and Wales.
The Welsh Government has responded to the underfunding by spending tens of millions of pounds on railway enhancements – money taken from budgets for health, education and other devolved subjects. Its decision to install a second track between Swansea and Llanelli in 2013 has eliminated the knock-on delays which occurred whenever a train had to wait for a delayed train to clear the five-mile single track.
The Welsh Government funded a similar scheme in Cheshire to improve reliability and service frequency between Chester and Shrewsbury, but could not afford to eliminate the entire Chester to Wrexham bottleneck. Since no funding was forthcoming from the Conservatives in London, the single track from Rossett to Wrexham remains a drag on punctuality improvement.
TfW Rail is one of four passenger train companies which serve Wales. The most recent statistics available from the Office of Rail and Road, for the first quarter of 2021-22, show that TfW Rail was more punctual than Great Western Railway (GWR), CrossCountry and Avanti West Coast, all of which are under the UK Government’s control.
TfW has never had such a dramatic run of cancellations and delays as GWR did last spring after cracks were discovered in some of its new trains. On the other hand, TfW and KeolisAmey had a baptism of fire when they replaced Arriva during Storm Callum in October 2018. Many of the 1980s-built trains had not been fitted with a device to prevent wheels slipping on rails contaminated with leaf mulch. At one stage in November 2018, 23 of the 36 Sprinters were out of service for repairs. TfW fitted the equipment and autumn performance improved, but statistics from those dark early days are included in the cancellations and delays highlighted recently by the Welsh Conservatives.
TfW inherited a fleet of ageing trains because the Welsh and UK governments each held the other responsible for improving Wales and Borders rolling stock. The Pacer trains would have been replaced many years earlier had the Labour UK Government in 2003 not rejected Arriva’s proposals for new trains in favour of a 15-year franchise with the same old trains. As passenger numbers grew, the trains were used more intensively, leaving less time for maintenance and fewer substitute trains to use in the event of delays.
TfW also had the challenge of modifying most of the trains to meet accessibility regulations, which were required by law by January 2020. Sending trains for modifications left the fleet even more over-stretched.
Temporary replacement trains which should have been in service before the pandemic – ahead of the new trains TfW has ordered – were delayed, mostly for reasons beyond TfW’s control. Covid-19 restrictions prevented any training of drivers on replacement trains for months, but all 30 Pacer units were withdrawn.
Keeping an under-sized fleet of trains, mostly over 30 years old, running is a challenge, but TfW’s firstquarter punctuality beat that of many English and Scottish train operators with newer trains. Perhaps the maintenance staff at Cardiff Canton, Machynlleth and other depots deserve a round of applause, rather than a kicking by press release.
The Conservatives used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain detailed statistics on Welsh train delays and cancellations. TfW Rail comes under the Act because it was nationalised in February. Most of the train operating companies controlled by the UK Government, including GWR, CrossCountry and Avanti West Coast, do not come under the Act.