Reply-To: john.mct@btinternet.com
DEAR ELIN JONES,
TWO WEEKS AGO I ASKED FOR A COPY OF YOUR LETTER. COULD YOU PLEASE PROVIDE ME WITH A COPY OF THE LETTER WRITTEN TO THE CABINET SECRETARY FOR THE ECONOMY AND TRANSPORT ON MY BEHALF AND PROVIDE ME WITH A COPY OF THE MINISTERS REPLY ONCE IT IS RECEIVED. THANK YOU IN ANTICIPATION..
REGARDS
JOHN MCTIGHE
—-Original message—-
Subject : Fwd: Traws Cymru (Case Ref: EJ0076) T3 route Aberystwyth to
> Wrexham and Trawscymru T10/T11/T12 bus routes in North East Wales
>
> Dear Elin Jones,
>
> Could you please provide me with a copy of the letter written to the
> Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Transport on my behalf and
> provide me with a copy of the Ministers reply once it is received.
> Thank you in anticipation..
>
> Regards
>
> John McTighe
>
>> —-Original message—-
>> From : meirian.morgan@cynulliad.cymru Date : 27/06/2018 – 11:13
>> (GMTST) To : john.mct@btinternet.com Subject : Traws Cymru (Case Ref:
>> EJ0076)
>>
>> DEAR DR MCTIGHE,
>>
>> FOLLOWING YOUR RECENT EMAIL TO ELIN JONES AM, SHE HAS WRITTEN TO THE
>> CABINET SECRETARY FOR THE ECONOMY AND TRANSPORT, ASKING FOR CLARITY
>> ON THE QUESTIONS YOUR HAVE LAID OUT IN YOUR EMAIL BELOW.
>>
>> HOPEFULLY AN ANSWER WILL BE FORTHCOMING SOON.
>>
>> REGRDS,
>>
>> MEIRIAN
>>
>> MEIRIAN MORGAN
>> Swyddfa ELIN JONES Office
REPLY-TO: john.mct@
>>
>> Dear Ben Lake/Ellin Jones,
>> I have just been made aware of the following new Trawscymru routes
>> that have been put out for tender .
>> TRAWSCYMRU SERVICE T10: BANGOR – BETWS Y COED – CORWEN – CHIRK –
>> OSWESTRY TRAWSCYMRU SERVICE T11: MACHYNLLETH – NEWTOWN – WELSHPOOL –
>> WREXHAM TRAWSCYMRU SERVICE T12: MACHYNLLETH – NEWTOWN – MONTGOMERY –
>> WELSHPOOL – WREXHAM.
>> It therefore appears that the Welsh Government have jumped the gun
>> and ignored the Ken Skates statement on 23/01/2018 in the Welsh
>> Assembly Plenary “”_IT IS MY INTENTION, DEPUTY PRESIDING OFFICER, TO
>> SUBJECT SOME OF THE EMERGING PROPOSALS AND CHOICES TO A PUBLIC
>> CONSULTATION IN THE SECOND HALF OF THIS YEAR. WE ARE DETERMINED THAT,
>> IN THE FUTURE, SCHEMES COMING FORWARD WILL BE ROBUST, DELIVERABLE AND
>> BASED ON A SOUND STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.””_ Could
>> you please therefore ask the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and
>> Transport the following questions on my behalf as a Ceredigion
>> resident.
>> (a) When will the review of the Aberystwyth to Wrexham Trawscymru
>> route, which was recommended by the Winckler report and which was
>> finally commissioned on 14/11/2017 (see attached letter) by the
>> Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport (Ken Skates), be
>> completed , reported on and available for public examination?
>> (b) When will the Feasibilty Study/Review/Business Case, ( ie the
>> justification document for the above T10/T11/T12 Trawscymru
>> services), be reported on and available for public examination.?.
>> (c) When will the Welsh Government Transport Strategy key action to
>> improve reliability and journey times on the T2/T1 Bangor/Carmarthen
>> route through Aberystwyth be acted upon ?
>> (d) When will the Welsh Government reverse the changes of 01/01/2018
>> to the T2 timetable in Aberystwyth, which did nothing other than
>> deliberately destroy connectivity in Aberystwyth ? (The T2
>> Aberystwyth departure changed from 10.05 to 10.00 am reversing a
>> 2016 decision by the previous Transport Minister, Edwina Hart, and
>> the T2 arrival at 18.40 changed to 18.50 making it impossible to
>> connect with the last T1 to Carmarthen departing at 18.40) Yours
>> Sincerely John McTighe
>>
>> ADDENDUM 1
>>
>> Posting on 24/06/2016 to the BusUKForum
>>
>> TRAWSCYMRU SERVICE T10: BANGOR – BETWS Y COED – CORWEN – CHIRK –
>> OSWESTRY TRAWSCYMRU SERVICE T11: MACHYNLLETH – NEWTOWN – WELSHPOOL –
>> WREXHAM SERVICE TRAWSCYMRU SERVICE T12: MACHYNLLETH – NEWTOWN –
>> MONTGOMERY – WELSHPOOL – WREXHAM
>>
>> _“”Thanks for the information , I have spent 6 months trying to get
>> the Welsh Government to confirm these routes , _
>>
>> _Still an absolutely crazy route for the T10, which is purely for the
>> benefit of Ken Skates Welsh Assembly constituents in South
>> Clwyd. Why is the route not going into Wrexham which is a
>> strategic location ??_
>>
>> _I assumed the coastal route for the T10 by the fact that Wrexham
>> Borough Council and Conwy Council were involved in discussions on
>> the route. The Welsh Government have refused to answer my
>> questions on the route, which is no surprise now when as you rightly
>> point out there are going to be few passengers on the T10 (Bangor
>> — Betws y Coed — Corwen — Chirk — (Oswestry*) route. With
>> the coastal route across North Wales there would have been a big
>> market but my objection to that was it was already adequately
>> serviced by bus and rail. _ _However this new T10 route will work
>> very well for the Transport Minister’s (Ken Skates) Welsh Assembly
>> constituents in South Clwyd.
>> At Druid,. where the A5 meets the A494, the T10 route will enter Ken
>> Skates country of South Clwyd and also will meet the Trawscymru
>> T3 route a couple of miles further on before Corwen, when the T3
>> comes back onto the A5 after a 35 minute diversion around South Clwyd
>> villages on a B road . Between Corwen and Llangollen both the
>> T3 and the T10 will run on the same route on the A5 through Ken
>> Skates country. Do not be surprised if there are a few diversions
>> off the main route once the new T10 hits Ken Skates country as the
>> part of the T3 route from Bala to Wrexham through Ken Skates country
>> is 80% diversions off the main road._
>>
>> _I could have understood the T10 route if it went (Bangor — Betws y
>> Coed — Corwen — Wrexham) ie from one strategic location (Bangor with
>> good rail/bus links and access from Caernarvon/Anglesey/Holyhead etc)
>> to another strategic location (Wrexham with good access to 2 railway
>> stations / the UK train network and a busy bus station with many bus
>> routes into both
>> North/Mid Wales and England. The Welsh Government T10 route is to
>> Oswestry, which has a railway station, but the railway station is
>> closed and is now the Cambrian Railway Heritage Museum. What is
>> the strategic importance of Oswestry ? The strategic importance is
>> that this T10 Trawscymru service will have to cross the Assembly
>> Constituency of South Clwyd to get to Oswestry . How many passengers
>> will want to go from Bangor to Oswestry and vice versa ?. Why can
>> these passengers not use the existing T2/T3 route from Bangor to
>> Wrexham and then use the train (13 minutes from Wrexham to Chirk) or
>> the hourly Arriva bus to Oswestry? Why do we need 2 long distance
>> routes from Bangor to Llangollen (T2/T3 and the new T10 service ?.
>> The Welsh government should publish why the destination of Oswestry
>> has been chosen . Surely they must have done a feasibility study, or
>> a review / business case for these routes which appear to based on a
>> whim._
>>
>> _If the T10 service went to Wrexham , then passengers from Oswestry
>> and Chirk could still easily access the T10 service as there is an
>> hourly Arriva 2A bus service from Oswestry into Wrexham via Chirk and
>> from Chirk there is an hourly train service into Wrexham which takes
>> only 13 minutes . The area is overloaded with bus and train services.
>> _
>>
>> _In terms of the number of passengers that can use this T10 route the
>> following figures apply. The population figures are (Bangor 18,808,
>> _Bethesda 3,894, Betws-y-Coed 564, Corwen 2,325, Llangollen 3,658,
>> Chirk 4,468, _Oswestry_ 17,105, Total 50,822) . For the welsh
>> government proposed T10 route .to Oswestry the total number of
>> passengers that can use this route is 50,822, which is significantly
>> less than the 61,603 population of Wrexham, which should be the
>> strategic destination of this new T10 service . The Welsh Government
>> should change the new T10 to use a direct route
>> from Llangollen using the A5/A483 into Wrexham The part of the
>> route from Llangollen to Oswestry across the Transport Minister’s
>> AM constituency of South Clwyd should be abandoned. The Transport
>> Minister should stop providing Trawscymru routes for the benefit his
>> own AM constituents.
>> _With respect to the Winckler report, which has been completely
>> ignored by the Welsh Government, the T3 route from Wrexham to
>> Barmouth should not have been used and the T3 route should run from
>> Wrexham to Aberystwyth . The following are the population figures for
>> these 2 routes.:- _
>> _T3 Wrexham to Barmouth (Wrexham 61,603,.Llangollen 3,658, Corwen
>> 2,325, Bala 1,980, Dolgellau 2,678, Barmouth 2,522, , Total 74,766
>> )_
>>
>> _Wrexham to Aberystwyth (Wrexham 61,603, Oswestry_ 17,105, Chirk
>> 4,468, Welshpool 6,269, Newtown, 12,783, Caersws 1,586, Llandinam
>> 1,405, Llanidloes 2,929, Aberystwyth 18,965, Total 108,148 ) _The
>> Wrexham to Aberystwyth T3 route has the potential of 35,000 more
>> passengers (nearly 50% of the Wrexham/Barmouth total) and has
>> (1) the advantage of removing the 15 minute delays to the T2 in
>> Dolgellau to wait for the T3 from Wrexham , which is destroying
>> connectivity in Aberystwyth between T2 and T1 on the Bangor to
>> Carmarthen route. and (2) the advantage of allowing connection
>> between a Trawscymru service from Wrexham with the T4 to Cardiff in
>> Newtown and the T1 to Carmarthen and the T5 to
>> Cardigan/Haverfordwest/Fishguard in Aberystwyth. Barmouth with a
>> population of 2,522 is not a strategic destination, whereas
>> Aberystwyth with a population of 18,965 is. If you remove the
>> Wrexham population figure from the T3 route totals the results are
>> even more obviously in favour of an Aberystwyth route . The Barmouth
>> route covers a population of 13,163 and the Aberystwyth route covers
>> more than 3 times that figure with a population of 46,545 ._
>>
>> _The Wrexham to Machynleth route, (T11/T12), recently announced by
>> the First Minister Carwyn Jones is inadequate. Machynleth with a
>> population 2,235 is not a strategic destination compared to
>> Aberystwyth with a population of _18,965. Aberystwyth has a
>> University, a large hospital, an extensive shopping area and has 2
>> Trawscymru routes (T1 and T5) going to South Wales which could be
>> linked to by the new T11/T12 . The route is likely to be taken over
>> by Lloyd’s Coaches of Machynleth, which may be why Machynleth has
>> been chosen as a final destination. However the Welsh Government
>> Transport Strategy, the Winckler report and simple common sense
>> should indicate that the route should be Wrexham to
>> Aberystwyth and not Machynleth. If the Welsh Government do this
>> they will repeat the same mistake they made in 2014 when they chose
>> the T3 Wrexham to Barmouth route instead of the T3 Wrexham to
>> Aberystwyth route.
>>
>> _I find it surprising that the Welsh Government have (1) A
>> Government Transport Minister,(Ken Skates) (2) A Director of
>> Transport (Simon Jones) (3) A deputy Director of Transport (Sheena
>> Hague) (4) A Trawscymru Network Manager (David Hall) (5) A Consultant
>> Professor Stuart Cole (__Chairman of the Wales Transport Strategy
>> Group ,Co-author of the published Welsh Government Transport
>> Strategy, and TrawsCymru national bus network Board
>> member) who are all focused on ignoring the Welsh travelling public
>> (ie the passengers) and also focused on ignoring the Winkler review
>> and their own Transport Strategy. .. The consultant Professor Stuart
>> Cole is supposedly tasked with Trawscymru route development, but the
>> T3 route (D94 in 1965 , X94 under Arriva and now the T3) has remained
>> unchanged in 53 years and the latest proposed routes (T10 Bangor to
>> Oswestry and T11/T12 Wrexham to Machynleth) indicate he is not
>> fulfilling his consultancy role. I have also recently been informed
>> that the Welsh Government now have yet another consultant on board
>> ,Mark Barry, Professor of Practice in Connectivity.
>> Connectivity is the appropriate subject and perhaps Mark Barry will
>> be looking at Aberystwyth and wondering why there is no connectivity
>> between T2 and T1 services. Instead of employing Directors,
>> Network Managers and Consultants, the Welsh Government should employ
>> a team of bus drivers who I am sure would do a better job. _
>>
>> ADDENDUM 2
>>
>> KEN SKATES STATEMENT ON 23/01/2018 IN PLENARY
>>
>> _“”THE WELSH GOVERNMENT WILL PUT IN PLACE A FRAMEWORK FOR THE
>> DELIVERY OF TRANSPORT SERVICES THAT CAN IMPROVE NETWORK QUALITY,
>> FREQUENCY, RELIABILITY AND PUNCTUALITY, AND PROVIDE MORE INTEGRATED
>> AND REDUCED CARBON PUBLIC TRANSPORT_.””
>>
>> RUSSELL GEORGE QUESTION ON 08/05/2018 IN PLENARY
>>
>> “”YOU’VE OUTLINED THAT MARK BARRY IS GOING TO UNDERTAKE A STRATEGIC
>> OUTLINE PROGRAMME CASE, AND TWO CASES ARE BEING PROPOSED, FOR THE
>> NORTH AND THE SOUTH. IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO HAVE SOME TIMELINES ON
>> THAT FOR WHEN THOSE CASES AND REPORTS WILL BE REPORTED TO YOU AND
>> WHEN YOU’LL BE ABLE TO REPORT BACK TO MEMBERS. WILL THIS HAPPEN
>> BEFORE THE CONSULTATION THAT YOU HAVE OUTLINED THAT WILL TAKE PLACE
>> LATER THIS YEAR? I WAS PLEASED TO SEE THAT YOU MADE REFERENCE TO THE
>> CAMBRIAN LINE AND MID WALES NOT BEING NEGLECTED, BUT I’D BE
>> INTERESTED TO SEE IF THAT DOES SIT IN YOUR NORTH WALES CASE OR YOUR
>> SOUTH WALES CASE. IT’S SURELY GOT TO FIT IN ONE OR THE OTHER. I’D
>> ALSO LIKE TO ASK YOU, CABINET, SECRETARY, HOW YOUR PLANS DOVETAIL
>> WITH EXISTING POLICY DOCUMENTS THAT THE WELSH GOVERNMENT HAS ALREADY
>> PUBLISHED. CAN YOU ALSO SPECIFICALLY OUTLINE HOW YOUR AMBITIONS WILL
>> BENEFIT WELSH COMMUTERS BASED IN BOTH URBAN AND RURAL COMMUNITIES
>> ACROSS WALES? NOW, IT’S MY VIEW THAT IT IS, OF COURSE, VITAL THAT WE
>> BUILD AN INTEGRATED TRANSPORT SYSTEM. I DON’T THINK YOU MENTIONED AT
>> ALL PLANS FOR HOW RAIL WILL BE INTEGRATED WITH BUS SERVICES TO ENSURE
>> THAT IMPROVEMENTS WILL RESULT IN BENEFITS FOR PASSENGERS ACROSS
>> WALES, SO CAN YOU GIVE SOME VIEWS ON THIS? FINALLY, CABINET
>> SECRETARY, CAN YOU OUTLINE HOW THE DELIVERY OF THESE PROPOSALS, OR
>> YOUR AMBITIONS, WILL BE SUPPORTED BY THE TWO NEW BODIES THAT HAVE
>> BEEN CREATED TO HELP DRIVE FORWARD THE CREATION OF NEW TRANSPORT
>> INFRASTRUCTURE IN WALES? I DON’T THINK YOU MENTIONED THE NATIONAL
>> INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION FOR WALES IN YOUR STATEMENT, WHICH I’M
>> SURPRISED ABOUT, AND IF THAT’S THE CASE, PERHAPS YOU COULD JUST
>> EXPLAIN SOME RATIONALE BEHIND THAT. AND WITH REGARD TO TRANSPORT FOR
>> WALES, I THINK AT ONE POINT THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT MARK BARRY WILL
>> BE WORKING WITH YOUR DEPARTMENT AND TRANSPORT FOR WALES, SO I’M JUST
>> KEEN TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TRANSPORT FOR WALES AND
>> YOUR DEPARTMENT AND HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER. AND FINALLY, DOES THE
>> NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION FOR WALES HAVE THE RESOURCES AND
>> SUPPORT THAT ARE REQUIRED TO DELIVER YOUR AMBITION?””
>>
>> KEN SKATES ANSWER TO RUSSELL GEORGE ON 08/05/2018 IN PLENARY
>>
>> “”Regarding mid Wales. _MID WALES IS CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT IN
>> CONNECTING THE WHOLE OF WALES, IN ENSURING THAT WE DELIVER AT THE
>> HEART OF ‘PROSPERITY FOR ALL’ A TRULY UNITED AND CONNECTED WALES._
>> So, it will be essential that the Cambrian line is considered in all
>> of the work that’s undertaken and that we go on working with partners
>> across the border to develop cross-border transport links, both in
>> terms of rail and bus services. It’s my expectation that the early
>> work that will be completed by Professor Barry will be with me by
>> July. _I’VE ALREADY STATED THAT IT’S MY INTENTION TO GO OUT TO
>> CONSULTATION IN THE SECOND HALF OF THIS YEAR_, and so I would hope to
>> have his early findings on my desk in the coming two to three months.
>> If you look at the programme for government, we have a united and
>> connected Wales at the very heart of our desire to drive up
>> prosperity.. I do believe that the Member is absolutely right in
>> talking about the need to enhance integration of public transport
>> services, particularly in rural areas. _ALTHOUGH THIS STATEMENT TODAY
>> DOES NOT CONCERN, NECESSARILY, BUSES._ It’s also important to point
>> out that the success in recent times of the TrawsCymru network should
>> not be underestimated. _IT’S A LONG-DISTANCE NETWORK, OFTEN
>> CONNECTING COMMUNITIES NOT SERVED BY RAIL SERVICES._ It, along with
>> reform of local bus services that will come through legislation and,
>> hopefully, through _WELSH GOVERNMENT _and local authorities working
>> with the sector,_ WILL DELIVER BETTER INTEGRATION, NOT JUST IN TERMS
>> OF TIMETABLES, NOT JUST IN TERMS OF PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND
>> HUBS_, but also in terms of ticketing. That work is being taken
>> forward in parallel with the work that Professor Barry is undertaking
>> in identifying the early projects that require investment.
>>
>> Longer term, the national infrastructure commission and the experts
>> who will sit on that commission will have a role in influencing,
>> informing and scrutinising any proposals from Welsh Government and
>> Transport for Wales. In terms of Transport for Wales and the role
>> that Mark Barry has in informing the work that Transport for Wales is
>> doing, and where the Department for Transport is concerned, Professor
>> Barry brings expertise that currently complements what Transport for
>> Wales has to offer. It’s my view that Professor Barry is able to
>> inform Transport for Wales in an objective way and inform the UK
>> Government’s decisions in an objective way by offering us expert
>> views, expert analysis and an evidence-based approach to the projects that should be prioritised in the early stages.””
Help keep news FREE for our readers
Supporting your local community newspaper/online news outlet is crucial now more than ever. If you believe in independent journalism, then consider making a valuable contribution by making a one-time or monthly donation. We operate in rural areas where providing unbiased news can be challenging. Read More About Supporting The West Wales Chronicle
