WALES can rightfully argue that it has received little rail investment for many years. Electrification to Swansea was curtailed at Cardiff Central; the original plan of wiring the Valleys never happened and the most recent Office of Rail and Road (ORR) figures showed that Transport for Wales operates the second oldest train fleet in Britain, with an average age of 29.4 years.
Pacers dominated coverage about the state of the north of England’s rail system and yet they continued to operate commuter services in and around the Welsh capital until 2020. Long-distance trains from Manchester to west Wales can be operated by two or three-car trains, and with current problems with rolling stock, two-car Class 150/2s or even pairs of Class 153s have been operating on this route. Yes, it’s a train, but the quality compared to other journeys is not great.
In 2018, when KeolisAmey won the Wales franchise, it announced plans to replace 95% of the existing fleet, with the remaining 5% consisting of refurbished trains. This would mean that the mixed bag of Class 142s, ‘143s’, ‘150/2s’, ‘153s’, ‘158s’, ‘175s’ and Mk.3 coaches would be withdrawn.
Occasional locomotive-hauled trains on the Valleys would become a thing of the past. Instead, Class 67s hired from DB Cargo UK would haul Mk.4 coaches, Class 170/2s would be cascaded from Greater Anglia and five Vivarail Class 230s would be introduced on the Wrexham-Bidston line. New trains built by CAF at Newport and Stadler would be introduced.
Under the plans, CAF would deliver 77 diesel multiple units to be used across Wales as well as on cross-border services, while Stadler would deliver diesel electric multiple units and tri-mode units for use around Cardiff and South Wales. Possibly the most intriguing aspect was the decision to order 36 tram-trains from Stadler for the Valleys with the aim of some on-street running,
