Cardiff to Holyhead Train.

How ordinary working folk travel into Cardiff: (Arivva claim there is no more spare carriages)
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/packed-commuter-train-shows-just-11986503

How our AMs travel into Cardiff: (subsidised £1.7m train with full kitchen and first class dining car on board, Jacob Zuma couldn't have come up with any better!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHNLayx-CQU#t=73

Sample menu for today:



I was tempted to travel on it but it's £255 rtn excluding food/drink and only works if you want to travel North to South
So only for the ruling gogs who have their snouts in the trough.

I am not in any way excusing either the failure of the UK government to invest in Wales' railways, or the Welsh government's management of the franchising, or ATW's operational effectiveness BUT I read recently that there are no spare diesel-electric units/carriages in the UK.

This is from ATW's website, albeit an FAQ written a few years back:

"As a result of the ever increasing popularity of our services (more than 1 million more journeys every year for the last 11 years), we acknowledge that capacity is a major concern for our customers. The finite number of trains in our fleet acts as a significant constraint on our ability to add extra trains or carriages. We have investigated options of obtaining additional trains, but due to continuing passenger growth across the entire UK rail network, all Train Operators are holding onto trains and there are no suitable trains to lease at this time. The rolling stock (train) owners have also advised us that there unlikely to be more diesel trains to lease until sometime in 2017 or 2018 when the national electrification programme should see some trains become available. In the shorter term investment has been made to enable us to provide a locomotive and 4 carriages to operate services between Holyhead, Chester and Manchester, meaning 11 of our busiest services will have more capacity from December 2014 with 2,450 extra seats per week."

https://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/FAQ ... rriage-on/

Zach,

When you quote £255 you fail to mention that it is the most expensive anytime ticket you can buy. The train also has standard class as well as first and if purchased in advance (1 week) you could use the train first class for £158 with a complimentary breakfast, which if you start at 5.00am in Holyhead is probably quite welcome. You can get standard class returns from £69. The train is quite popular as it is quicker by about 30 mins, an hour for a return.

From the viewpoint of the north we seem to have been ruled by a cabal of southern labour AMs with relatively little capital spending at this end of the country. Not many ruling gogs unless you count the idiot Ken "could my teeth be any whiter" Skates!

I'm not excusing AM's expenses, but it's not as if it's their own personal train, it's a service they happen to use.

Personally, I'm more bothered about the piss-poor links between north and south Wales, either by road or rail. Sorting out this disconnect should be a priority for the Welsh Government. Re-openng the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line would go a long way.

Look at the connectivity between towns and cities we had in the 1930s:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... WR_map.jpg
Back then it was possible to get from north to south without leaving Wales! You could even get to the National Library from Cardiff, Newport and Swansea via public transport without having to go via Shrewsbury!

Whatever happened to that plan to provide new rolling stock using refurbed tube trains carriages? I think anything would be welcome, it's no like electrification will happen that soon on the smaller routes.

Zach,

When you quote £255 you fail to mention that it is the most expensive anytime ticket you can buy. !

Yes I do know this, but to have half a carriage given over to food preparation for the other half carriage comprising of 14 seats is just balmy, when Arivva claim they have no spare carriages.
I think what people want is better and faster links from North to South Wales, not existing ones where they serve Michelin starred food to disguise the 5 train hour trip. It would be like the WAG paying for subsidised food at Shrewsbury Services so motorists could break their welsh North/South journey. (via England)


On a different beef!!
The new Eastern Link road is coming on a treat, scheduled to open next April. But, I really do fear for traffic congestion as the two lanes merge into one heading east.
The traffic just now, was tailing back from the A48 to the magic roundabout. This will congest the Queens Gate roundabout and even tail back to the tunnels. Will they have light to divert the excess traffic onto the old route??

Zach, those are the only full size carriages that Arriva have and they do make the journey quicker, an hour on a return journey.
What is required is capital investment:
1) reinstatement of the Connahs Quay loop down onto the N. Wales coastline off the Wrexham-Bidston line to cut out the wasted time going into and then reversing out of Chester.
2) Electrify the line.
3) Investment in rolling stock

However nearly all capital spending will go on one line London to Birmingham.

Plus Network Rail is just not upto the job, see the latest cutbacks on the GWR lines
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... rd-bristol
or the total mess Network Rail have made of the WG investment in double tracking the Wrexham Chester line, started June 2014 will not now be completed until March 2017.
http://www.wrexham.com/news/completion- ... 17526.html

I think targeting one & half carriages is the wrong target.