Plans to renew the Wales and Borders rail service is close to “collapse” after Arriva Trains Wales pulled out of bidding
Plans for the Wales and Borders rail service has been throw into “chaos”
The Welsh Government is now in search for a bidder for its Wales and Borders rail service after Arriva Trains Wales pulled out of negotiations for its franchise renewal in 2018.
The service is currently run by Arriva and deploys trains to all stations across Wales (a total of 244 stations) and stations on the border with England, including trains to Shrewsbury, Chester and Hereford.
Despite the delay caused by Arriva backing out of negotiations, the new franchise is still expected to start service as planned in October 2018. Companies now bidding for the franchise contract include Abellio Rail Cymru, French-Canadian firm Keolis and MTR Corp (Cymru) Ltd.
The new train service to a new bidder necessitates the transferring of certain powers from Westminster over to the Welsh Government, given that some of the services will run in England. The order to bestow said powers has not yet been given, which could delay the work even further.
Paul Maynard, the Transport Minister for the Welsh Government preached “caution against reading too much” into Arriva’s decision to pull out of proceedings.
“I am confident that we are on track to complete the transfer of franchising powers in Wales and of the necessary agreements over the next few months in good time for commencement of the planned contract.”
Cardiff Central is the hub for most people’s rail journeys in Wales
While this new franchise may mean better services for passengers travelling between Cardiff, Newport and stations on the Welsh Borders, passengers who commute using the Valleys line have shared concerned that they’ve been “forgotten” by the developers.
Meg Scammell is an admin assistant who commutes daily to Cardiff from the Valleys line in Pontyclun, Llantrisant.
“I’m glad to here Arriva has pulled out ,” she told Alt.Cardiff. “There’s all these new changes being made but we’re still getting trains that are dirty, overused and overcrowded. We need a change. But I’ve not heard much about how this will improve the Valleys line I take to work everyday. I’ve heard them talk a lot about new trains and improved services from Cardiff to Newport, but what about the Valleys? It feels like we’re getting left behind. It’s not fair.”