7,700 fewer Wales train services per month compared to pre-Covid

WELSH Government data has revealed there were about 7,700 fewer services operating in Wales last month than at the same time in 2020 before the pandemic.

With the easing of Covid restrictions, train services have been plagued by overcrowding and delays in recent months.

Recent Welsh Government figures, which show the number of train services operated by Transport for Wales (TfW) from when the company began operating services in October 2018 to March 2022, showed that 17,973 services operated in February this year, compared to 25,736 in February 2020.

Pre-pandemic, services operated by TfW stood at 27,684 in October 2018, and increased to 28,006 a year later.

The lowest number of services per month was 14,399 in May 2020 – 3,574 fewer than how many were operated last month.

In December, TfW announced an emergency rail timetable, which equated to a reduction of the standard service by 10%-15% due to staff absences.

Services were then further reduced on January 3 by an additional 10%-15%.

But TfW has said it has been slowly restoring services since February.

Shadow Minister for Transport Natasha Asghar MS said: “For two years Wales has lived under Covid-19 restrictions which we have followed in order to stop the spread of the virus.

“However, it is time we got the economy moving again.

“If Labour ministers are serious about combating climate change and kickstarting the economy, they must ensure that sufficient public transport services are running.”

Aspokesperson for TfW said that all services are due to be restored in April and it will be adding more services across the Wales and Borders network as part of its timetable change in May.