Arriva Train Wales - Background and some Facts

Arriva Trains Wales (Welsh: Trenau Arriva Cymru) is a train operating company that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches. Its hubs are Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street and Newport. Routes are also concentrated on Shrewsbury, Crewe, Chester and Wrexham General.

Wales and Borders (now Arriva Trains Wales) used to operate services between Cardiff and South West England, as well as between West Wales, Cardiff and London Waterloo via Bristol. Services to the South West are now operated by First Great Western, while a shortened Bristol to Waterloo service is provided by South West Trains.

The company took over operation of the reorganised Wales and Borders railway franchise from the company of the same name in December 2003. Responsibility for this franchise has been devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government as a result of the Railways Act 2005 and the Transport (Wales) Act 2006 , and they work closely with Arriva Trains Wales to develop the railway network within Wales. This has included the introduction of direct services between North and South Wales, and the reintroduction of passenger services on freight-only portions of the Vale of Glamorgan Line and Ebbw Vale Line.

They operate on a gauge of 1435 mm, over a route length: 1691km, with 253 DMU cars and 22 passenger coaches.

Arriva Trains Wales operate almost all services in Wales, with the exception of:

* Swansea/Cardiff Central to London Paddington (First Great Western)
* Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour and Taunton (First Great Western)

* Cardiff Central to Nottingham and Newcastle (CrossCountry)

* Holyhead/Bangor/Wrexham General to London Euston (Virgin Trains)

* Wrexham General to London Marylebone (Wrexham & Shropshire)

In October 2006 the company was ranked seventh best (out of 21 companies) with an above average 89.9% of trains 'on time' according to Network Rail statistics. The latest figures released by the ORR (Office of Rail Regulation) rate punctuality (PPM) at 93.1% for the first quarter of the 2008/9 financial year. Their MAA (Monthly Annual Average) figure up to 30 June 2008 is also up on last year at 92.4%. However, the Cambrian Main Line is still a poor performer, with anecdotal evidence suggesting punctuality levels as low as 60%.

One of Class 142 Pacers used by Arriva

Incidents

On 19 July 2008, a Tractor driver suffered severe head injuries when his vehicle was hit by a train on a level crossing on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line. The 16:46 Gobowen-Chester worked by unit 158 824, struck the tractor and trailer at Weston Rhyn crossing between Gobowen and Chirk just before 17:00. The train didn't de-rail, but suffered severe front end damage. It later emerged that a passenger had suffered a whiplash injury to the neck, with the train driver being taken to hospital to be treated for shock. 17 passengers were on the train, all of whom were evacuated shortly after 19:00 and taken to their destinations by road.

Welsh Language Services

The Welsh Language Act 1993 requires all public bodies to provide services to the public through the medium of Welsh as well as English. Due to the privatisation of the railways, Arriva is not legally required to provide service in Welsh. Arriva do however conduct some business in Welsh. All stations in Wales where the Welsh and English names differ have both names displayed, with a few minor omissions (only the Welsh spelling Fflint is displayed at Flint railway station). Arriva do not display Welsh names in the English stations which they manage, such as Chester (Welsh:Caer) or Hereford (Welsh:Henffordd), although recorded announcements are in both English and Welsh.

Arriva Trains Wales have introduced bilingual display screens and announcements in at least 46 stations , but these do not include some stations such as Bangor in traditionally Welsh-speaking areas. Long-distance services on Class 175 trains now show both Welsh and English names on their on-train display boards (e.g. Manceinion/Manchester Piccadilly), but the audio announcements are still English only.

In 2004, Arriva introduced a Welsh language phone line . Their website was named the "Best Website of The Year in the Technology Wales Awards 2004". Arriva report that approximately 4% of their customers use the Welsh website; this low takeup of Welsh services is comparable to some other companies.

Routes

North Wales

Services along the North Wales Coast Line terminate at Holyhead and Llandudno. Llandudno services run every hour, mainly to Manchester Piccadilly via Warrington Bank Quay and Manchester Oxford Road. Holyhead services run every hour, to Birmingham International or to Cardiff Central via Wrexham General , with some trains to Manchester Piccadilly. Request stations (Valley, Ty Croes, Rhosneigr, Llanfairpwll, Llanfairfechan, Penmaenmawr and Conwy) are served by alternate trains.

The Conwy Valley Line is operated by a single train running between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog, with six return journeys a day. The Ffestiniog Railway operates between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Porthmadog.

Mid Wales

Cambrian Line services consist of trains from Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury and Birmingham New Street every two hours. Services from Pwllheli join this train at Dovey Junction. The single-tracked nature of this line, coupled with the busy terminus at Birmingham currently mean that delays can result in partial cancellation of services on this line. Trial of the ERTMS traffic management system is under way on the Cambrian Line, and this may alleviate these problems.

From December, most services will be extended to Birmingham International most trains will make an additional call at Smethick Galton Bridge.

The Heart of Wales Line has services from Swansea to Shrewsbury via Llanelli and Llandrindod four or five times a day. It is marketed by Arriva Trains Wales as a scenic, rural line, with special rover tickets available.

The main servicing depot for Class 158 "Sprinter" DMU's is also behind Machynlleth Station

South Wales

As of September 2008, Arriva Trains Wales operates an hourly long-distance services from Carmarthen to Manchester Piccadilly via Cardiff Central and the Welsh Marches Line. Some off-peak services terminate at or originate from Cardiff Central, and continue to or come from Milford Haven every two hours.

Arriva also operates a service every two hours from Cardiff Central to Holyhead via Wrexham General.

Other branches of the West Wales Line as served by services from Swansea and Cardiff Central. Trains operate a shuttle service between Swansea and Cardiff Central, calling at more minor stations than the First Great Western Intercity services do.

Arriva also operates on the Heart of Wales line between Shrewsbury and Swansea via Llandrindod with four trains per day each direction. Special Royal Welsh Trains extending into South East Wales operate to Builth Road station during the Royal Welsh Show annually in July.

Cardiff

The Valley Lines network, previously operated as a separate franchise, are a collection of commuter lines in Cardiff and the surrounding area, including the South Wales Valleys and the Vale of Glamorgan. Arriva Trains Wales also operate a service from Maesteg to Cheltenham Spa. Stations in the valleys north of Cardiff have seen sustained strong growth and demand for services. The extent of which is now demonstrated by a half-hourly service on the fringes of the network (Pontypridd-Treherbert, Abercynon-Aberdare, Abercynon-Merthyr Tydfil and in the future Bargoed to Rhymney). Service frequency growth at the fringes is an enormous problem because of often-lengthy single-track sections. Between the larger towns and Cardiff these services combine to provide at least a train every 15 minutes with six trains per hour between Pontypridd and Cardiff and four trains per hour between Bargoed and Cardiff. Stations on the Treherbert and Rhymney branch lines have been lengthened to accommodate six-car trains to cope with future growth demand for commuting into and out of the capital.

On 6 February 2008 the Ebbw Valley line was partially re-opened to passenger services for the first time in over 40 years. The route provides an hourly service to Cardiff Central calling at Ebbw Vale Parkway railway station, Llanhilleth, Newbridge, Crosskeys, Risca and Pontymister, and Rogerstone and Cardiff Central. In mid July 2008 the line had already carried over 200,000 passengers, if this trend continues then the line will achieve its five-year passenger target of 420,000 in year one.[citation needed] Developments on the line also include restoring the service between Ebbw Vale and Newport — the proposal out to study at present would provide an hourly service to Ebbw Vale, which would mean the line would achieve a thirty-minute service interval on a standard-pattern timetable.

Marches and Border

Services between Chester and Newport form part of other services already mentioned, such as Holyhead to Cardiff Central, or Milford Haven to Manchester Piccadilly. Coming north, after calling at Shrewsbury (for connections to Mid-Wales) trains for North Wales go to Chester via Wrexham General, and trains for Manchester go to Crewe.

Borderlands Line services run from Wrexham Central to Bidston on the Wirral Peninsula. This line connects with electrified lines operated by Merseyrail, and may be converted to electric operation in the future. This may lead to the line being operated by Merseyrail.

Special Services

For special events such as football or rugby matches, Arriva is known to operate additional services to the venue . Wales and Borders had arranged in the past a stopping service to Edinburgh Waverley. Numerous other services have been operated. Arriva usually operates shuttle services to Newport on match days. Some of these services were operated using locos and hauled stock - usually on loan. It is not expected to continue in this fashion.

Class 175 Coradia

Future Services

Arriva have announced their intention to reinstate a direct Aberystwyth - London service serving all stations to Birmingham International and additionally calling at Leamington Spa and Bicester North on its way to London Marylebone[19]. Two peak-time trains would operate each day, while a further service would be added Saturdays in High Summer. Rolling stock would be refurbished Class 158 Sprinters.

Arriva has expanded its Class 150 fleet, with units cascaded from ScotRail and National Express East Anglia early in the franchise. On 10 December 2006, 8 further Class 150s from First Great Western were added, these being sets: 150230/236/240/241/242/251/253/254:

* 4 will operate on the Borderlands Line (Wrexham General-Bidston)
* 4 will enter service on South Wales valley routes for use on the restored Ebbw Valley Line from February 2008.

In 2006 'heritage' unit 121032 was purchased by Arriva for use on the Cardiff Bay Shuttle. The unit has been repainted into Arriva colours and was hauled to Wales in June 2006 to enter service in July. The unit finally entered service on 17 August 2006 but was withdrawn 2 days later due to a major problem with the engine. The unit re-entered service on the Cardiff Bay line on 14 September 2006. More recently the unit has been suffering further problems and once again it has had to be taken out of service. The Cardiff Bay line is currently running a class 153.

From November 2007, 9 Class 150/2 units transferred from the West Midlands as the Central Trains franchise came to an end. London Midland (the successor to Central Trains) will utilise Class 170s on Birmingham New Street to Walsall and Stafford services to enable the release of these 10 units. As of March 2008 5 of these units will be sub-leased to First Great Western due to recent bad press over a poor service provided by FGW - with several of these units having been refurbished with Arriva-style seating and corporate exterior livery.

From December 2008 a new fast Holyhead to Cardiff (and return) service will be operated by Arriva Trains Wales. It will be formed by 2 x class 57s (top'n'tail), 1 Mk 3 Buffet (on hire) and 3 of their Mk2 Coaches. The coaches are having a refresh at Eastleigh works and the locos painted at Cardiff Canton. The livery will be a new one not seen before.

Major stations served

Stations in Wales

* Cardiff Central
* Cardiff Queen Street
* Newport
* Bridgend
* Wrexham General
* Carmarthen
* Holyhead
* Llandudno Junction
* Swansea

Stations in England

Managed by Arriva Trains Wales

* Chester
* Hereford
* Shrewsbury

Managed by other companies

* Birmingham International
* Birmingham New Street
* Crewe
* Manchester Piccadilly
* Manchester Oxford Road
* Stockport
* Telford Central
* Warrington Bank Quay
* Wolverhampton
* Stafford

Contact Details

Homepage
Arriva Trains Wales
St. Mary's House
47 Penarth Road
Cardiff
CF10 5DJ.

Tel: 0845 6061 660 (To conduct your enquiries in Welsh please press option 1)
Email: customer.services@arrivatrainswales.co.uk

For assistance for customers with disabilities:
0845 300 3005
0845 60 50 600 (Textphone)