Transport for Wales has made significant progress with the reliability and punctuality of its services over the last year, suggest new figures from the Office of Rail and Road.
New data for the period April to June 2024 shows TfW has made the biggest improvement of any UK train company for punctuality (+8.1% improvement) and reliability, cancellations reduced by 3.2%, compared to the same period in 2023.
TfW also tops the list for the biggest change in trains planned, with a 26.7% increase in the number of trains planned between April and June this year compared to the same period last year.
Additional figures recently released by Transport Focus indicate another improvement in overall customer satisfaction with Transport for Wales’ rail service at 88% (28 June – 15 Sept 2024) – a 16% increase in 12 months.
Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales, said, “The on-going introduction of our £800m fleet of brand-new trains has helped to improve reliability, punctuality and capacity across the network.
“We’ve also completed some of the most significant engineering work on the Core Valleys Lines as part of our delivery of the South Wales Metro, which has reduced the need for rail replacement services.
“In addition to the improved performance we’ve added more services across Wales on routes including Wrexham – Bidston, the Ebbw Vale line and Cardiff – Cheltenham, to give our customers greater travel options.
“We know there are still improvements to be made with our services but with more new trains and improved service frequency still to come over the next few years, we are doing what it takes to deliver further improvements for our customers.”
But the news was challenged by Welsh Conservatives.
The closure of the Treherbert line last year may have artificially boosted this year’s improvement figures.
The line was closed for major engineering works for 10 months, which would have caused significant disruptions and rail replacement services in 2023. With the line now reopened, a large drop in cancellations or delays compared to last year simply reflects the resumption of a normal service, rather than actual performance improvements across the network.
Responding to the claim that TfW services have improved this year, Natasha Asghar MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Transport Minister, said, “The so-called recent improvements reported by Labour-run Transport for Wales are clearly a smokescreen.
“The decision to close the Treherbert line last year for ten months caused significant disruption, understandably then making this year’s numbers seem as if they were much better.
“Whilst passengers across Wales will likely see some improvement from the re-opening of the Treherbert line, they will unfortunately continue to suffer from overall delays, cancellations, and poor service, once again exposing Labour’s failure to deliver any real progress.”
