The information on the number of delays was uncovered in an investigation by the Welsh current affairs programme, Y Byd ar Bedwar into the standard of service provided by the public transport provider.
2023’s delay total marks the worst year since Transport for Wales assumed control of the Wales and Borders network in 2018.
In a separate freedom of information request, more than 83,000 complaints have been recorded since 2020 about TfW’s service.
A YouGov poll for ITV Cymru Wales in December 2023 asked 1,000 people what they thought of Transport for Wales’ train service. Almost half (45%) said it was unreliable.
Responding to this recent revelation, Natasha Asghar MS, Shadow Transport Minister, said:
“With Labour pouring more than £1 billion into TfW, it’s high time we started seeing a return on Welsh taxpayers’ investment.”
Responding to the revelations, Gethin Jones, public affairs manager at Transport for Wales said:
“We know that there is room to improve services – and that’s why we have invested, since 2018, £800 million into a new fleet of trains, and to improve stations.
“On the investment that we are making, since Transport for Wales took over the franchise in 2018, we inherited old fleets of trains for example. It is quite clear that there were a few years where investment into the railways in Wales wasn’t enough.
“Changing railways does not happen overnight, and it is clear that we understand the amount of work ahead of us. However, what’s good is that this work is happening now.”
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said in a statement:
“This has been a challenging time for the railways but it is important to recognise that performance has improved over the last few months. We will continue to invest and work to provide an integrated and sustainable transport system of the highest quality.”
[Lead image: Transport for Wales]
