Written question WQ91913
- Asked by
- Gareth DaviesConservative
- To be answered by
- Minister for Climate Change
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 10 days
Question
Will the Minister outline how the Welsh Government is working with Transport for Wales to improve rail punctuality on the north Wales main line?
Answer
Answered by Deputy Minister for Climate Change
I regularly meet with the Chair and Chief Executive of Transport for Wales where we discuss a range of issues including rail punctuality and reliability across the network, to ensure improvement can continue to be made in these areas. Last year was challenging for performance as Transport for Wales were in a peak period of disruption removing old trains as a result of our £800m investment in an entire new fleet. Rail service performance, including punctuality on the North Wales Mainline, is significantly better in the first months of 2024 and will continue to improve as more of the brand new trains are rolled out.
The Welsh Government is also in regular contact with Avanti about the services they provide on the North Wales Mainline. Last year almost half of their North Wales Services were not on time, and almost 10% were cancelled. However, under the current devolution settlement we have no powers to hold them to account for this performance.