TFW Class 230 reliability improvements transform its Borderlands line services
WORK BY Transport for Wales engineers to improve the reliability of the Class 230 trains used on the Borderlands line between Wrexham Central and Bidston has seen a positive increase in punctuality and performance on the 27-mile route. The five Class 230s owned by TFW – 230006-230010 – were converted by now-defunct train builder Vivarail from former London Underground D78 Stock. They started running on the Borderlands route from April 3 last year, following a number of issues with the trains which delayed their introduction into passenger service. However, their performance has not been without problems, and at the end of June last year TFW announced that it was implementing an improvement plan for services on the Wrexham to Bidston route ( Railways Illustrated issue 244), as the reliability and number of failures affecting the Class 230s had given the operator cause for concern. TFW said that engineers have been working hard in the background to address the reliability issues, with a funded plan in place to make the necessary changes, which are expected to further improve reliability over the coming months. The operator has also been able to introduce Class 197 DMUS onto the line, with the Caf-built trains working in tandem with the Class 230s.
A new timetable was introduced in December, providing more trains on the Borderlands line, with frequencies increased from the hourly service to a train every 45 minutes, representing four extra return journeys each day. Additionally, longer turnaround times at each terminus has resulted in better resilience and fewer service cancellations.
During the first 12 weeks of 2024, TFW reported that more than 80% of trains arrived on time or within three minutes of their expected arrival time. These figures compared with a rate of less than 50% of services arriving within three minutes of the expected time during 2023.
TFW planning and performance director, Colin Lea, said: “It’s excellent news to see how these targeted changes are making a real difference to customers’ journeys. Our customers and stakeholders have been clear in what they want: a regular and reliable service that works for them. “Quite simply, what we were delivering last year was not good enough. So, we appointed a dedicated route officer for the line to look at the issues we were facing.”
“We will continue to work closely with our partners to keep a close eye on performance, so we can make things better for customers as the investments in new trains come on-stream.”