Arriva pulls out of Wales and Borders

This from the twitter feed of Ken Skates…

Ken is 'the Official channel of the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure' at the Welsh Assembly Government:

Statement from Transport for Wales on the Wales and Borders Franchise pic.twitter.com/57T0zEglCT

— Ken Skates (@wgcs_economy) October 30, 2017

This leaves the following in the running:

• KeolisAmey;
• MTR; and 
• Abellio

Interesting, possibly even unexpected...

Wales joins Scotland in rejecting DOO

Eye hears, lots of Welsh voices in Marsham Street today.

No matter.

Meanwhile this from Andy McDonald, the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport:

Excellent news from Wales! Keeping guards means passengers will be safe & have the assurance and service they need. https://t.co/LwnNeHwEh3

— Andy McDonald MP (@AndyMcDonaldMP) September 29, 2017

That sound? That is the sound of the DfT and every TOC management team in England sobbing.

Tafia Vanity Express partially derailed

This from ITV...

The Welsh Government have announced changes to the North-South Wales express train service.

From September this year it will run once a day instead of twice, but will stop at additional stations in Wrexham and Flint. The Government say it will save half a million pounds a year.

Who would have guessed it would have come to this when the second daily return service was announced last March.

No doubt the few remaining passengers of the soon to be withdrawn second train can be catered for more cost effectively by chauffeured Rolls?

Welcome to the Tafia Express

This from Owain Glyn Dour...

According to the BBC...

A north-south rail service that takes in Wrexham will begin in May, the assembly government has said.

A second Arriva Trains Wales "express" service will run once a day between Holyhead and Cardiff and back.The service will stop at Wrexham in both directions, unlike the first service started in December 2008.

But Wrexham council leader Aled Roberts said that, while welcome, the new service will mean the loss of a direct service to Birmingham from the area.

The new service, costing £620,000 to run until December when a different locomotive will be used, will run Monday to Friday and take four hours and 17 minutes.

The evening train is timetabled to leave Cardiff at 1818 GMT, stopping at Newport, Abergavenny, Hereford, Shrewsbury, Gobowen, Ruabon, Wrexham, Chester, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno Junction, and Bangor to arrive at Holyhead at 2234 GMT.

So a popular local service from Wrexham to Birmingham is being sacrificed to provide paths for a £620k vanity train linking North and South Wales.

As disgruntled Birmingham bound passengers have pointed out, there are already frequent daily trains running north and south via Wrexham. Unfortunatley these exisiting services don't offer first class accomodation which apparently our new rulling class can no longer live without.

Happily the new Tafia Express will offer first class and catering facilities; all for a paltry subsidy of just £4,750 a day!

Despite going all round the houses and taking over four hours to travel between Cardiff and Holyhead there is likely to be at least one regular user of the Tafia Express.

Step forward Deputy First Minister and holder of the transport portfolio, Ieuan Wyn Jones, who today announced the new service, which provides a direct rail link between his Yns Mon constituency and Cardiff office.

Trebles all round and one for yourself boyo.

Ieuan Wyn Jones - stop whinging

This from Scotch Corner...

Here is the Welsh Deputy First Minister talking about mistrust in politics.....

Little wonder that there is mistrust when he has spent public money on an expensive loco hauled train from his home town to Cardiff, which has a fabulous first class dining offer on board, but alas is only used by half a dozen people or so each day.

And the subsidy is over a £1m!

Even if ten people used it each way everyday, that's £200 subsidy a journey!!

Not so much mistrust as seeing pork barrel politics for what it is!

ATW hung out to dry over rugger specials

This from the late Nye Bevan...

According to Wales Online...

THOUSANDS of rugby fans could find themselves stranded in Cardiff after Wales’ Friday-night clash with France, after one rail boss warned there will be no extra trains.

Now, a fair cop guv at first sight but as always there is more...

The stadium didn't tell people about the travel plan issues because they were worried about ticket sales, and there is no money in the pot for more trains so the best you can do is make them four coach sets on the Valleys.

But note how nobody takes the blame and the railway is put to the sword because the stadium has to play to the broadcasters (TV) tune and doesn't have the guts to be public about it.

And good to see the civil servants (sic) of WAG showing excellent form in line with their DaFT counterparts!

You quoted Fiennes earlier in the week, and indeed it is no way to run a railway, especially when your supposed friends leave you to face the music alone.

Pillow talk

It is well known that the Welsh Assembly Government and Arriva Trains Wales work closely together. But it took the press to discover quite how closely.

The Western Mail reports today that Tim Bell, MD of Arriva Trains Wales lives with a certain Alison Teague.

Ms Teague, when not living with Mr Bell, is tasked by the Welsh Assembly Government with monitoring the finance and performance of Mr Bell's franchise (ATW).

Defending the slightly unusual arrangement the TOC said “Arriva Trains Wales understands that the Welsh Assembly Government was made aware of this matter when Tim Bell was appointed managing director and has put processes into place to avoid potential conflict of interest.”.

So that's all right then.

The Fact Compiler understands that Ms Teague continues to be satisfied by Mr Bell's performance.