Rail services set to improve as huge engineering effort to repair trains means ‘normal’ service from Monday

Rail services across Wales and the Borders look set to improve over the next two weeks after a terrible few weeks for the new Transport for Wales brand taking over from Arriva Trains Wales.

Engineers have worked almost 1,000 hours of overtime over the last four weeks to return damaged trains to the tracks, meaning services on the Wrexham-Bidston line will be restored to normal levels from Monday (3rd December), and other pre-planned cancellations will ‘be reviewed on a daily basis as the week progresses’.

Transport for Wales cocked up an apology in the area, and their confused communications saw u-turns over updates to customers. Cabinet Secretary for Transport Ken Skates was quizzed in Cardiff Bay over the train issues, pointing to Arriva Trains Wales as the reason for many of the problems.

In a statement Transport for Wales has said of the Wales-wide picture: “The number of available trains in the fleet has increased by more than 10% in the last four days after the mammoth engineering push, and the number of trains reporting new faults is starting to fall.

“While the current stormy conditions are still creating difficult conditions for rail services, the picture is still expected to improve.

“Network Rail and Transport for Wales have launched a joint investigation to understand why this autumn’s weather caused so much damage to the fleet. A leading industry expert is conducting a range of scientific studies on the track conditions and how the trains have coped with them to help prevent a similar situation happening again.

“In the future, an £800m investment in new trains will bring in rolling stock better able to cope with autumn weather conditions as well as offering passengers a much improved travel experience. The first of those will be introduced in North Wales as early as next year.”

James Price, Chief Executive of Transport for Wales, said: “As our engineering teams return our trains to the tracks, passengers will start to see their services improving. We know that this has been a difficult time for our passengers, and we’d like to thank them for their patience.

“Our main focus now is on understanding what went wrong, and doing everything in our power to prevent it happening again. In the long term, that will be investing £800m in new trains across the network, but while those trains are being built and tested, keeping our current fleet fit for service will remain a top priority.”

Transport Secretary Ken Skates said: “The work carried out by the Transport for Wales’ engineers to return damaged trains back to service should be recognised and applauded.

“We still have some challenging times ahead as the autumn conditions continue, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank the engineers who have worked so hard to this point.”