The CEO of Arriva Trains Wales has personally committed to making improvements to the company's performance on the Cambrian Line, after concerns were raised about the reliability of its service by Montgomeryshire Assembly Member, Russell George.
Last month Mr George wrote to Arriva Trains Wales CEO, Tom Joyner, and also drew the First Minister’s attention to the repeated cancellation of services between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury during November.
One of Mr George’s constituents, Christopher Banks, a student living in Newtown studying in Shrewsbury, reported that cancellations had reached an unacceptable frequency with the 07.38 service cancelled on the thirteenth, seventeenth, twentieth, twenty-first, twenty-seventh and twenty-ninth of November.
After receiving assurances from the Arriva Trains Wales CEO, Mr George said:
"I am pleased to have received a positive and proactive response from the CEO of Arriva Trains Wales and am grateful to Mr Joyner for his offer to meet with me in Montgomeryshire to discuss the reliability of the service on the Cambrian Line and wider concerns regarding the rail network in Mid Wales.
"In particular, Mr Joyner confirmed to me that the performance of the 07.38 from Newtown to Shrewsbury was below average and that he was disappointed that the performance was below par especially given that Arriva Trains Wales has one of the best punctuality records in the UK.
“The odd cancellation once every few months is part and parcel of railway life and whilst aggravating, customers can accept and put up with it.
“But there have been a large number of cancellations or part cancellations recently with no alternative bus service being provided, leaving Cambrian Line passengers totally in the lurch.
“The Cambrian line service is an essential service for regular commuters and students alike and I hope to see a quick improvement in performance and reliability now that the CEO has made a commitment that he will personally oversee the improvement of the company's performance on the Cambrian Line."