Train Chaos
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Posts
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Is the minister equally confident that our North Wales trains will not be used in South Wales for the 6 nation fixtures, leaving us with bus only services?
Last Friday train 8.00 from Wrexham to Llandudno should have been striaght through but need to change in Chester as there was an engine failure. On retrun train to Manchester cancelled due to shortage of drivers and another just cancelled no explanation- this does not bode well.
It’s not good enough really is it? The Welsh Government have declared a climate emergency and seem to reduce emissions by ultimately reducing the number of polluting cars on the road. Yet they can’t put on a reliable enough train service that people could use as an alternative to cars to get to and from work or come and visit Wales as a tourist destination.
There’s really no joined up thinking going on.
LOL, Margaret, that was my first thought when I read the article! The cancellations due to sporting events in south Wales is something I use as an example to people not from Wrexham when I try to explain how unreliable – and unprofessional – train services are in Wrexham. And those problems didn’t even affect me personally – I was just appalled that a train company’s regular customers from north Wales, including people who relied on those services for work, were treated with such disregard and indifference.
On Tuesday the 07:03 to London was cancelled. Online it suggested the entire train to London was cancelled but at the window in Wrexham General we were told it was just the Wrexham to Chester portion and that a bus was coming to get us. I don’t know whether the bus eventually arrived (and in good time) as a few of us got ourselves a taxi to Chester at our own expense. We were able to join the existing service at Chester (i.e. it was indeed only the Wrexham to Chester portion of the service that had been cancelled). The 07:03 is the only direct train from Wrexham to London and is Virgin Trains (for now). Five carriages should have collected us in Wrexham and coupled up in Chester to the train that comes from along the north Wales coast. The five Wrexham carriages were instead attached in Crewe.
I long ago gave up catching trains from Wrexham to Chester and changing to the London service in Chester, as the Wrexham to Chester leg just wasn’t reliable – the platform display in Wrexham would keep changing to show it due later and later and then suddenly the display would change to show the following scheduled service (due an hour later). There would be no explanation, announcement or apology. I started simply getting a taxi straight to Chester to start my train journey there. Back then the Wrexham to Chester service was still Arriva – maybe Transport for Wales is better. But these days I only ever get the 07:03.
I’ve caught trains many times from Wrexham to Chester this summer on Saturdays and have never been able to get a seat. It is absolutely packed full of people, e.g. including young families off to the seaside (what a horrible start to their trip). The train company must be aware of this increased demand over the summer – why do they not increase the number of carriages? They seem happy to take the extra train fares.
Obviously people choose train travel for various reasons – e.g. shopping trips, days out to the seaside, travel to holiday destinations – but one steady and year-round demographic is commuters. Yet public transport (trains and buses) in this region has no commitment to commuter travel at all. Matt mentions the Welsh Government wanting to reduce car emissions – and its lack of joined up thinking. How on earth does the Welsh Govt not see that our truly inadequate public transport in north Wales effectively forces people to travel by car instead.
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