Transport for Wales service is branded ‘appalling’
THE rail service linking Cardiff and Manchester has been branded “truly appalling” by a passenger who endures regular journeys on cramped two-carriage trains.
Pensioner Tim Lowe, who is a trustee of the Little Princess Trust – which raises funds for children with cancer – travels regularly on the inter-city route to attend charity meetings.
On his latest journey earlier this month, Tim managed to get the last seat in the two-carriage train – which then became loaded with passengers forced to stand or sit on the floor.
He described sitting next to an elderly lady who dared not drink for fear she wouldn’t be able to get through the crammed carriage to reach the toilet.
And he said he had to assist a blind woman who couldn’t navigate her way past the hordes of people to get to the door of the Transport for Wales (TfW) service.
Tim, who lives near Marple in Stockport, and took photographs during the journey on Friday, November 5, said: “People were already standing through lack of seats as the train left Manchester Piccadilly station, some of them going beyond Cardiff.
“The alleyways were blocked with people and luggage so there was no chance of a refreshment trolley and a trip to the toilet near impossible.
“The elderly lady next to me dared not drink from her flask as to negotiate a route to the toilet was impossible. Getting off at Hereford, I helped a young blind lady stepping over bodies and bags to reach the door.”
Describing a sign advising twometre social distancing as “laughable”, he added: “I could hardly see it for bodies. The announcement that the refreshment trolley was back caused ironic cheers as it could not move along the train.”
Tim says the carriages are regularly this crowded, adding: “They are packing people in like sardines. I’m triple-jabbed but I can see people are worried.
“Why on Earth do they run trains with two carriages between Manchester and Cardiff?
“I want to talk about this because I think the operator should be answerable to somebody. This was truly appalling service.”
The complaint is the latest to raise concerns about crowding on TfW services. Yesterday, we reported concerns about overcrowding on services following Saturday evening’s World Cup qualifying match between Wales and Belarus in Cardiff.
Regarding the Manchester service complaint, Tim says he has since written to both the CEO and chairman of Transport for Wales to express his concerns, but has heard nothing back.
He added: “The daft thing is a drive from Manchester to Hereford is three hours and the train is only two, so it should be brilliant but it’s such a badly run service and I don’t know why. I dread it.”
A spokesperson for Transport for Wales said: ”In recent weeks demand for our services has been increasingly high across the network, particularly at peak times and as passengers return to pre-pandemic activities.
“We’re working hard to meet this demand, and we regularly review our timetable and the number of people travelling to ensure our carriages are used in the right places.
“While our services are still operating differently due the impact of the pandemic, all of our available carriages are in use.
“We’ve also implemented as many safety measures as possible to help keep passengers safe and comfortable, including enhanced cleaning regimes on trains and at stations, adding additional services or road transport where possible, and ensuring people wear face coverings, unless they are exempt.
“Whilst all our available train carriages are in service, we advise passengers to plan ahead. Passengers can consider whether they want to travel on trains that are likely to be busy, based on information from our Capacity Checker tool.
“We’re due to begin introducing brand-new trains to the network next year which will provide more capacity than our current trains, as well as better facilities for our customers.
“This major investment is part of our work to transform rail services in Wales and the borders, which also includes station improvements, more frequent services and better integration between modes of transport across our network.”