'Abysmal' Powys railway service raised with First Minister

Montgomeryshire MS Russell George raised the issue of poor public transport in mid Wales, telling the First Minister: “It’s pretty abysmal”.

The promise of hourly train services between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury, which was initially proposed over a decade ago, won’t start for another two years and will only operate in the summer under the latest plans to be revealed by Transport for Wales.

Mr George highlighted poor service Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth Cambrian Line, with trains arriving late "or not at all", as well as a recent rail user survey showing low levels of customer satisfaction with Transport for Wales.

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“I want to really raise to you about public transport in mid Wales from a rail perspective,” said Mr George.

“It's pretty abysmal, I'm afraid. I continue to get constituents contacting me about delayed trains on the Cambrian line, and also trains not turning up at all at short notice.

“It shouldn't really be a surprise, of course, because Transport for Wales was the worst customer satisfaction for any train operator in the UK, according to the rail user survey.

“But most frustrating to me is the delayed progress on an hourly service. We've had commitment after commitment that's gone broken.”

Mr Gething fired back and said: “The factual point is that Transport for Wales is the best-performing franchise in Wales by a distance; by a significant distance.

"It performs better on timeliness and on the lack of cancellations compared to every franchise that is run and managed through the UK Government departments. That's a matter of fact, not a matter of opinion.

“Rail infrastructure is not devolved, and the challenge that the Member faces is on the one hand regretting and complaining about the challenges that lack of investment in rail infrastructure causes, without willing the means for that to happen."

After First Ministers questions, Mr George said: “This fiasco has been going on for over a decade.

“If the Welsh Government want to reduce the number of car users, then they need to make serious improvements to public transport and they can start by ensuring Transport for Wales stop delaying the operation of a true hourly services between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury.

“I asked the First Minister to give a commitment to me and my constituents as to when we can expect a service with trains arriving on time and not cancelled at short notice, and when can we really expect that true hourly service, as was promised many, many years ago.”