EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – JAMES PRICE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF TRANSPORT FOR WALES

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JAMES PRICE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF TRANSPORT FOR WALES 

Today we’re speaking to James Price, chief executive of Transport for Wales (TfW). They are the new body that has taken over from the much complained about Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) to run the Wales and Borders railway franchise. On their website, they have published a list of impressive targets to improve the railways in Wales. So, what does James think?

What will travelling TfW be like for the passenger? What can they expect?

“Transport for Wales has ambitious plans to transform rail services across Wales, so our passengers can expect to see a big difference. We’re investing £800m to replace all trains by 2023, increasing capacity by 65%. Passengers will see more carriages, more seats and benefit from more frequent services and reduced journey times. We’re also investing £194m to improve all stations in the Wales and Borders network.

“We recognise that it’s important to improve the service we provide our passengers as soon as possible, so we’re investing £40m in our current fleet to improve its appearance, introduce new services, make accessibility and other customer experience improvements.

“We’re introducing additional rolling stock from 2019, to allow some of our current fleet to undergo essential upgrades and to allow us to withdraw the unpopular Pacers from service. Then, from 2021 we’ll see the first of our brand new trains, including those running over lines in West Wales, which will provide a step-change over the current fleet.”

There have been many complaints about the state of railways in Wales, from rolling stock, pricing, lateness, cleanliness etc etc. Can you make a difference and how?

“Our customers have high expectations and we hope they’ll welcome our ambitious plans to transform rail services in Wales. We’re making significant investments in the rail service. We’re investing £800m to replace all trains and £194m improving stations to provide customers with a world-class service.

“We’ve introduced new service performance measures and targets which will enable us to measure the performance of the rail service effectively. We’ll be introducing Delay Repay 15, for instance, where customers will be compensated automatically when services are late.”

Transport for Wales is a not for profit company owned by the Welsh Government, so how does Keolis Amey fit in to the business?

“Transport for Wales is the not-for-profit company driving forward the Welsh Government’s vision of a high-quality, safe, integrated, affordable and accessible transport network. KeolisAmey Wales Cymru, operating as Transport for Wales Rail Services, runs the Wales and Borders rail service and operates stations for Transport for Wales.”

At the moment, some of the trains are still carrying the ATW livery, when will everything be changed?

“We’re currently rebranding our current fleet over the next 12 months with interim Transport for Wales branding and you may have already seen some rebranded trains on the network. These trains will be used until new trains are introduced in 2023. Transport for Wales is investing £800m in new trains and the interiors and exteriors of these trains will be branded with Transport for Wales’ full livery.”

A lot of impressive targets have been set for TfW, but when will the public see real changes?

“Customers should start to notice big changes from mid-2019, when the first of our additional trains start to arrive. These will include fully rebuilt Class 230 trains for North Wales, and the innovative bi-mode Class 769 trains for the South Wales Valleys. These will free up more capacity elsewhere on the network, allowing us to undertake refurbishment work on the existing fleet, and providing us with the capacity to operate additional services.

“By the end of 2019, we’ll withdraw our oldest trains, the fleet will be larger and meet the new accessibility legislation, our rebranding and station deep cleaning programme will be well underway. We’ll also have introduced Delay Repay 15 compensation for any disruption of at least 15 minutes to customers’ journeys, as well as Oyster Card-style smart ticketing which we’ll be rolling out across the network.”

One of the major complaints when there was Rugby internationals in Cardiff was seeing a 2 carriage train turn up which was obviously too small to fit all the fans in. Can you tell us if there will be longer trains for special events in Cardiff?

“We’ll be increasing the size of our fleet over the next few years to ensure that we have more carriages available particularly at busy times, such as major events in Cardiff. The team at Transport for Wales Rail Services is also making operational and infrastructure changes which will provide us with more flexibility for events like rugby and football matches and big concerts in South Wales. While rail services will always be busy for events like these, we hope that passengers will notice an improvement.”

Free travel for under 5s has been extended to under 11s, half-price fares extended to 16 – 18 year-olds and under 16s go free off peak. Has this started now, because I tried the booking website and it was going to charge me for a child ticket? Also, how will it work if I booked to travel to e.g. Bristol with my 9 year daughter?

“We’re introducing the changes to tickets for young people from January 2020 and they’ll only be available on Transport for Wales services. We’ll be providing more details closer to the launch. These changes are just one of a number of changes we’ll be making to our fares structures over the next few years to make travelling by train more affordable and encourage more people to use public transport.”

What is the plan for the stations? Will they be kept updated, clean and painted? Reopening closed ones or building new?

“We’re investing £194m to improve all 247 of our stations and building at least five new stations and we’ve already started a programme of deep cleaning and rebranding. We’ll be investing in Carmarthen and Machynlleth stations in 2021 and Llanelli Station in 2025. Existing stations will be modernised, new ticket machines will be installed and we’ll also be refurbishing disused station buildings for community use. A £15m fund will make stations more accessible and are launching a new app allowing customers requiring assistance to ‘turn up and go’ from April 2020.”

Will we be seeing new railways being built? E.g. There was a feasibility study carried out recently on rebuilding the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth Railway. Would you like to see it built, is there any chance of it being built and is that something that would be in TfWs remit?

“The plans that we’ve announced for the rail network are designed to be flexible and extendable. We’re aware of a number of potential transport corridors, including the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line and the Welsh Government has said that it will consider the re-opening of railway lines when it refreshes the new Wales Transport Strategy.

“It is important, however, to recognise that investing in the re-opening of railway lines is the responsibility of UK Government. The Transport Secretary has also written to the Secretary of State for Transport to seek his support for the UK Government to work with the Welsh Government to investigate the benefits of reopening railway lines.

“The Welsh Government will continue to press for the powers to be devolved to Welsh Government so we can decide how best to invest in the enhancement of our rail network in Wales in a way that meets the needs of our communities.”

Lastly, what is your favourite route on the Welsh network and why?

“I’m lucky enough to live near a station and to be able to commute to and from work by train. However, we are fortunate as a nation to have a number of scenic routes through unspoilt parts of Wales, such as the Heart of Wales line, the Cambrian line, and the routes to West Wales. They’re all well worth a day trip to see the sights and explore our beautiful countryside.”