Disgruntled rail passengers are calling on Arriva Trains Wales to schedule more trains to stop at Energlyn and Churchill Park Railway Station.
The station opened last December and currently only two trains an hour stop each way, arriving just 15 minutes apart.
This means passengers could be waiting for up to 45 minutes for a train during off-peak times at a station that cost £5.2 million to build.
The residents are being supported by two local Labour councillors who have launched a petition calling on Arriva Trains Wales to improve their service.
Cllr James Pritchard, of Morgan Jones Ward, said: “There are passengers who think the train’s going to stop at Energlyn and the next thing they know it’s at Llanbradach.
“Residents living in Churchill Park expect and deserve the same service as those accessing the train elsewhere.
“It’s in everyone’s interest for trains to stop and depart from every station.
“The local Labour Party therefore calls on Arriva to recognise community feeling and commit to increasing services to four trains per hour as soon as possible.”
Penyrheol ward councillor Huw Davies said: “Residents living in Energlyn and surrounding areas have welcomed the new station and it’s pleasing to see the station being well used.
“Although the station development is great there is often the same questions arising from local people about why for much of the day only two trains per hour stop there.
“Naturally these are legitimate concerns about the timetable and its necessary that Arriva Trains Wales address these as soon as possible.”
An Arriva Trains Wales spokesperson said: “We currently operate a service from Energlyn and Churchill Park in line with the timetable schedule and stopping pattern agreed with the Welsh Government.
“We review the timetable frequently for opportunities to add extra stops within our timetables and where the timings in the schedule will allow.
“Following a recent review, we are pleased to announce the Monday to Saturday 11.16pm Cardiff to Ystrad Mynach service will stop additionally at Energlyn and Churchill Park from September 8.”
The call for more trains comes as it was revealed that train fares will rise in England by 3.5% from January, 1% above July’s RPI inflation rate, as average wages grew by 0.6%.
But fares in Wales are regulated by the Welsh Government and last year were held below inflation so Welsh commuters could be given some respite.
The Welsh Government confirmed they will hold on a decision until they know the cut in cash from Westminster.
Agreed – as a local its a real pain when your train only stops in Caerphilly or Aber – then you have to walk or pay for a bus
Fares should’nt be increased. THEY SHOULD BE DROPPED by at least twenty percent and returns should be halved.
agreed, why not have every train stop there. seems silly why arriva do this
Are these Councillor people stupid? Arriva trains is not to blame. THEY ARE! Arriva trains is a company aiming to generate net profit. It’s already running the services it sees as being profitable from that station. It’s not going to run a service which will not be used unless, A; the Welsh government provides a subsidy or B; the cost-return analysis Arriva trains does shows a sizable return can be made.
This whole station is a farce and an ideal example of the Welsh government and Caerphilly council building a station without doing a full consultation into services from the station. Arriva’s monopoly means it knows no other competitors will start services drawing its own passengers away. The passengers who would use this new station don’t refuse to travel as a result, they simply go to another station with the services they need. As a result, it’s cheaper for Arriva to have three-carriage trains running to fewer stations at high frequency than it is fewer-carriage trains, at a slightly lower frequency to more stations. With this in mind is it surprising Arriva runs few services from this new white elephant station?
The same thing occurs with airports. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic serve their destinations from larger hub airports in London. These airlines hold a monopoly over British air travel and it’s more profitable for them to send a bigger plane from a London airport across the pond than it is smaller planes from more regional airports to the same destination. BA runs a loss-making service from Manchester to Heathrow just to bring in traffic to fill up jets at it’s hub knowing the full A380 departing Heathrow covers the loss made on bringing people into Heathrow. They could have a 787 each departing from Manchester and Heathrow to a destination but the total net profit isn’t as great as one full A380 from Heathrow and a loss making service from Manchester – Heathrow. Arriva trains is in a similar position so does similar.
An example closer to home is Thomson Airways and Cardiff Airport. Thomson used to serve Florida, Mexico and Jamaica from Cardiff Airport up until 2008/9 when airlines became more efficient. They quickly realised the demand to travel to such places is constant and the consumer will travel to the nearest airport serving such destinations. Thomson has no competitor serving such routes from closer to home so decides to stick with bigger planes from key UK airports. The consumer still travels to the key UK airports and Thomson misses out on very little potential demand. Indeed, the demand it fails to meet is so small it doesn’t justify more regional airports serving far-flung destinations. We saw the same at Bristol airport with Continental axing services to NYC and instead moving them all to Heathrow. Come to think of it, no US carrier now flies into Gatwick. They all use Heathrow as the hub network idea serves airlines better. Trains are much the same…
This whole project is another example of CCBC squandering taxpayers’ money.