Train chaos in Shropshire and Mid Wales set to continue
Rail passengers travelling through Shropshire and Mid Wales face a lottery as to whether their trains are running or not.
Today it emerged that some hourly services on line that runs through Shropshire and Mid Wales are being cancelled.
Disgruntled passengers say many Transport for Wales services affected now run once every two hours.
But the train company today repeated an apology.
Spokesman James Nicholas said: “We have people working around the clock to repair the trains that are coming in, but when they go back out others are coming back in for repairs.”
Disgruntled passengers have reported that the hourly service, which was installed due to high demand when the franchise was run by Arriva Trains Wales, is now running once almost every two hours.
Earlier this week Transport for Wales, which took over the franchise this year took out an advertisement in the Shropshire Star apologising to customers.
It said it had inherited problems with rolling stock, with around one in five trains on the fleet being off the track for repairs.
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This has led to major issues with cancellations and delays across Wales and the borders.
James Nicholas, spokesman for Transport for Wales, said there wasn’t a designated change in timetables that has led to two hourly services between Newtown and Shrewsbury being badly affected. Others services between Aberystwyth and Birmingham, taking in towns including Newtown, Welshpool, Shrewsbury and Telford, have also been hit.
He said: “It is quite possible that for periods there is a longer time between the services.
“We have issued apologised this week to passengers, and thanked them for their patience
“We have people working around the clock to repair the trains that are coming in, but when they go back out others are coming back in for repairs.
“It is not just the Cambrian Line from Aberystwyth – there are other areas that are suffering as well.”
Adverts in newspapers earlier this weekend apologised to customers, with train bosses saying people deserved better.
Figures have also revealed that since October 14 that four per cent of services were cancelled or significantly late, which is down 0.4 per cent since the same period last year.
Mr Nicholas said there isn’t a time frame on when the service will be running at full capacity again, but engineers were working as quick as possible to minimise the disruption.
He added: “We can’t give a time on when the service will be be fully back up and running because when a few go out a few come back in.
“People are working hard to get trains back on the track as soon as possible.”
