12 Apr 2024
Transport for Wales (TfW) has completed its future timetable review following a change in rail travel demands post-covid.
Following a comprehensive review of current rail demand and predicted future growth, TfW has developed a new long-term strategy to better align with the new travel habits and requirements of customers, whilst becoming a truly multimodal operator.
As a result of the review some rail routes will see more services and longer trains with more seats, particularly during seasonal peaks. Other routes will see slightly different calling patterns better targeted to current needs.
However, TfW has had to make some tough decisions to ensure it provides capacity where most needed, grows revenue and ultimately reduces public subsidy.
Some of the key changes include:
- Running 87 more services on mainline routes than when TfW took over in 2018 and more carriages added to some busiest services to help meet growing demand.
- Removing a small number of services that have very low passenger demand.
- Providing extra capacity on popular summer routes.
- Deferring some earlier-made commitments for more services on certain routes.
TfW remains committed and is continuing to deliver its £800 million investment into new trains for the whole of its network.
Stakeholder feedback on current timetables, passenger numbers and close consideration of alternative travel options have all fed into the TfW review.
Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director said: “We’ve completed our future timetable review. The proposed new timetables will provide us with more resilience in the winter period and meet changed travel demands post Covid.
“Nearly every service that TfW operates requires public subsidy, and as a responsible operator it’s imperative for TfW to balance the needs for a regular, robust and reliable service with available budgets to deliver value for taxpayers and more sustainable transport."
TfW intend to deliver these timetables over the next few years.
Notes to editors
TfW announced a review into future timetable commitments (outside of the South Wales Metro) last summer, following a change in travel patterns and rail demands post-covid.
As part of this review process differing levels of subsidy saving options were considered and it was agreed to proceed with a modest set of changes to the Wales and Borders rail timetables.
The new timetable includes:
- Additional calls to/from Milford Haven and Haverfordwest giving the towns 13 services per day in each direction
- Hourly service between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury to run from May to September from May 2026
- Additional peak time services on the Vale of Glamorgan line by 2026, but the increase to 2tph throughout the day deferred
- Cardiff <> Cheltenham services are going to be enhanced by June 2024 to hourly services throughout the day time.
- Extra services between Swansea and Tenby between May and September from 2025, subject to agreement with Network Rail
- Liverpool to Chester service extended to Llandudno from 2026, subject to agreement with Network Rail and work completed to level crossings
- Heart of Wales services planned to cross at Llandrindod Wells to give much better customer experience in event of disruption (services currently cross at Llanwrtyd Wells).
Some of the more difficult decisions we’ve taken include:
- Reducing Heart of Wales Line services from five through services to four per day from December 2024 and removal of the two late evening services to Llandovery and Llandrindod. Bus options are currently being explored.
- Removal of four services between Machynlleth and Pwllheli (two in each direction). Two further services will be retimed and will run between March and December.
- Amending four journeys to end at Carmarthen (instead of Cardiff Central as of today), though these will connect into GWR services Carmarthen <> London Paddington. (Connection times can be found in our timetables).
- To defer the introduction of some additional evening services between Cardiff and Cheltenham Spa.
- To defer a previous commitment to increase trains between Cardiff Central and Bridgend, via the Vale of Glamorgan line, to two trains per hour. However, we will introduce an additional peak service in each direction.
- To defer a previous commitment to introduce a new Cardiff Central <> Shrewsbury <> Liverpool Lime Street service, owing to the levels of Network Rail infrastructure enhancement required.
- To defer a previous commitment of increasing our services between Cardiff and Swansea to one train per hour at off peak times. However, this service remains hourly during the peak.
