Overcrowding fears over plan to transfer our trains to south
PROPOSAL WOULD SEE N. WALES RECEIVE ‘UNPOPULAR’ SINGLE CARRIAGE REPLACEMENT
RAIL passengers in North Wales could face overcrowding if plans to increase capacity in other parts of the country are implemented.
Class 150 diesel units, which have two carriages, are currently in use on the Borderlands route from Wrexham to Bidston and the Conwy Valley line from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno Junction.
These trains also operate services from Wrexham to Liverpool and the Chester to
Crewe shuttles as well as the Heart of Wales line from Shrewsbury to Swansea.
But rail insiders have told our sister paper, the Daily Post that Transport for Wales (TfW) plan to move the Class 150s from the region to strengthen services in south Wales and replace them with single carriage Class 153s.
A source said: “TfW have been hit by a perfect storm of late delivery of newer trains and the need to upgrade its existing stock to meet disabled traveller requirements.
“One suggestion being considered is moving the Class 150s south and replacing them with the Class 153s.
“This could be acceptable in winter but as a long term measure it would cause severe overcrowding as rail travel is on the increase.”
He added Class 153s have been used on North Wales routes in the past.
“They were not popular with passengers as the windows are quite high and can be noisy,” the source said.
Arriva Trains Wales, the previous Wales & Borders franchise holder, handed over eight Class 153 units to TfW and another five units have been delivered after use by Great Western Railway. They are currently used on the Cardiff Bay shuttle and the Cardiff City Line.
TfW had hoped to have introduced Class 230 trains on the Conwy Valley and Borderlands lines by now.
These are former London Underground trains which are being converted to run on diesel or battery powered engines.
The first class 230 entered passenger service with West Midlands Trains on the Marston Vale line between Bedford and Bletchley last April.
The five units for Wales are still undergoing conversion with the first expected to emerge from the Vivarail depot at Long Marston, Warwickshire in the next few days.
“Even if all five are quickly completed and tested staff need to be trained to operate them and maintain them.
“Given that training staff on loco hauled trains in Cardiff has taken months the Class 230s will not be seen in service for several more months,” the insider added.
The Class 150s are needed elsewhere because other trains have been late arriving.
Nine Class 769 diesel and electric units were due to have been delivered by mid-2019 following conversion from Class 319 electric units.
Earlier this summer TfW confirmed regulatory issues with the units were preventing their introduction.
Last week TfW announced the delivery of the first of 12 Class 170 diesel unit but these are earmarked for south Wales lines from December.