The rail operator, Arriva Trains Wales, has announced it is investing nearly half a million pounds into refurbishing several of its trains.
Around 66 trains across the network will get a facelift as part of the provider’s £430,000 push to improve frosty relations with commuters.
Arriva Trains Wales has come in for criticism from the borough’s commuters, with many claiming they are regularly left standing on overcrowded or delayed services.
The operator’s contract is due to end in 2018, with four bidders currently vying to take on the Wales and Borders rail franchise.
Work on the refurbishment project began in December last year, and will include rolling stock which runs on the Valleys lines.
Arriva Trains Wales has said that each train interior will be stripped before undergoing an “industrial deep clean”, while the safety film on windows and doors will be renewed.
Seats and toilets will also be refreshed.
Simon Hughes, Fleet Manager at Arriva Trains Wales, said: “In response to customer and stakeholder feedback we have invested £430,000 in the refresh and refurbishment of a number of trains.
“This investment displays Arriva Trains Wales’ commitment to improving train services and facilities for passengers throughout our network.
“The project will be undertaken over the next year with the trains refurbished one at a time in order to limit the number of trains out of use to ensure we keep the maximum number of trains running for our passengers as possible.”
I wonder when @ArrivaTW are rolling out their cleaned up carriages. First train of the day is filthy. pic.twitter.com/bHKGgEAxeb
— Hefin David AC/AM (@hef4caerphilly) January 25, 2017
Caerphilly AM, Hefin David, who has been vocal in his calls for improvement to rail services, said: “This is very welcome and while it does not address the issue of overcrowding it does take welcome steps to make the journey to work easier.
“I’ve raised today my concerns about the general day-to-day cleanliness of the carriages and Arriva have promised to take immediate action.”
Meanwhile Islwyn AM, Rhianon Passmore, has said she is “heartened” by the Welsh Government’s disappointment towards Arriva’s provided service, adding: “This week in the Senedd I asked the First Minister about the unsatisfactory nature of overcrowding on Arriva Trains Wales services between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff, and today I met with Arriva Trains Wales representatives to express my unhappiness about the present situation.
“My constituents in Islwyn are rightly irritated by Arriva Trains Wales making a 6.9% profit last year whilst saying there is nothing they can do.
“I am heartened by conversations with the Welsh Cabinet Secretary Ken Skates that the Welsh Government will not let this situation drag on for the remaining 20 months of Arriva Trains Wales’ current franchise.
“I welcome today’s news that Arriva will invest £430,000 in refurbishing carriages but have sought assurances that this will not add to the already chronic lack of capacity.
“The UK Government must act to help facilitate any spare carriages being made available to Arriva Trains Wales. The Conservative Transport Secretary came to Cardiff recently for a photo opportunity on an Arriva Trains Wales service but refused to be interviewed for BBC Wales’ Week In Week Out Special ‘What’s Wrong with Our Trains?’
“I shall be writing to him to ask what he intends to do to help facilitate action. Wales’ railway network does not exist in isolation. We are part of a United Kingdom and any spare rolling stock would need to come from outside of Wales.”
Any improvement to train interiors is welcome but the problem,as I see it, is the comfort of the trains themselves. I have already described Arriva trains as “swaying bone shakers” and these improvements will not change that. The current coaches are not as comfortable as the BR trains of forty years ago. I am not basking in nostalgia either, I have ridden in old carriages recently at various railway preservation societies.
Which American company owns Arriva?
It’s owned by Deutsche Bahn apparently, which is owned by the German government. The subsidies paid by the tax payer therefore go to financing the German Government.
I wonder why their fares are cheaper in Europe, as they are more often than not on time and well run – Yet we go to book Arriva from Manchester to Caerphilly with booked seats and most times they tell me and my partner – that they have cancelled the booked seats, and just sit anywhere -it’s nearly as bad as Southern at times.
I, like the average rail user, can only comment on what I see. The railways in Europe are indeed usually better than we are used to at home. Might this be because they have not organised their network so that the tracks are owned by a different company to those that run trains?
In France SNCF seems to run everything and is state owned, In Germany Deutshe Bahn does the same job but has subsiduary companies, owned by itself, in order to comply with some bonkers EU directive. In Italy RFI, again state owned, controls nearly all the rail network and trains.
With regard to your particular concern, Manchester to Caerphilly, it looks to me that cancellation of a numbered seat that you have paid for is breach of contract. This is something the government needs to look at when awarding franchises. Even better, nationalise the lot. It’s not as if we are not paying taxes to subsidise the railways, I think we pay close to £5 Billion per year to the rail companies, sometimes, like Arriva, owned by foreign governments.