People in Wales have criticised the "incompetence" of Transport for Wales, after a picture was shared of a packed two-carriage train heading from north Wales to Cardiff for a Nations League match. The train service was branded a "disgrace" by football fans, who questioned why Transport for Wales provided just two carriages for some services to the Welsh capital on Saturday ahead of Wales' 1-1 draw with Belgium at the Cardiff City Stadium.
It comes after heavy criticism of the train service for Ed Sheeran's recent gigs in Cardiff. One Wales fan, Wayne Jones, shared a picture of an overc two-carriage train which was "already full" shortly after 11am when it reached Bangor. In an update at 12.46pm, he posted another picture with the tweet: "Gets better... direct train to Cardiff now terminated at Wrexham. Hundreds waiting for another two carriages. Disgusting!"
Wayne's posts have sparked well over 1,000 online reactions, including from Lesley Griffiths — the Welsh Government minister for north Wales — who branded the situation “unacceptable” and tagged Transport for Wales in her tweet. The majority of WalesOnline readers who commented under our post about the story Facebook commenters also condemned the scenes on the train and called for improvements. You can get travel news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here .
Many claimed it was common to find yourself overcrowded Transport for Wales carriage travelling to and from the north, and that nothing had changed over the years. Tracey Roberts claimed trains to and from north Wales had always only had two carriages for more than 18 years. "It's a disgrace that the amount of people that are squashed together like sardines. They hike up the ticket prices but nothing changes," she said.
Marty Drury pointed this out too, writing: "Thing is, that service is almost always two carriages. I regularly join it in Hereford to get back to Cardiff from seeing family. Doesn’t matter what day or time. It’s two carriages. I’m often thankful I’m only on it for just over an hour. The same service has risen in price a lot over the years. No noticeable improvements but price rise all the same."
He continued: "Transport For Wales has got to improve things. Not expecting major changes overnight. Just do something as the same stuff goes on repeat regardless of anything. It’s great that Cardiff has so much going on. But you can clearly see how little investment the trains and lines round here have had."
Mark Long said: "When I was getting the train from Cardiff to Manchester often a few years ago, it was fairly common to find yourself standing until you were well into Cheshire", while Bradley Thomas added: "Cardiff - Manchester vice versa is an embarrassment. 2-3 coaches for a long distance train service stopping at major cities. Absolute joke of a company/service with the same excuses every year."
Others felt the train operator should have increased the number of carriages in anticipation of the influx of passengers heading to a big event like the match. Rhi Adele wrote: "Bit short sighted on the train company's side really. They new this event was happening they should have put more carriages on the service."
Glenda McCarthy said: "Whoever is in charge of the trains to and from Cardiff on match days, whether rugby or football, needs to get a grip of the situation as there are always too many people rammed on too few trains!! The same applies to big concerts in the city!!", while Ian McCallum added: "Great to see they've learnt nothing from the utter calamity of trying to get into Cardiff by train when the Rugby World Cup was there in 2015."
Jason Stickler admitted he had given up on travelling to events in the capital altogether due to the state of the train service. He said: "I don't go to big events in Cardiff because I know the trains are unreliable to support them. Come to think of it I don't actually go to small events if there's a big event on unless I can get a lift because I know what trains can't support the amount of customers that will be generated."
Robert Snare felt "heads should roll". He commented: "A Transport for Wales spokesman replied: "We understand the situation and we're not hiding away from our responsibilities. We're here to deliver on our promises and confident that we will transform the network and make the nation proud." Just more hollow words from TFW, nothing changes or improves. They failed with the Ed Sheeran concerts just a few weeks back. Total incompetence."
Some felt the responsibility lay with the Welsh Government. Alison Spencer said: "I just don’t get it. Nothing is linked up in terms of planning. I moan about the inability of Cardiff to organise transport for big events, but when it’s across the whole country, it’s not just the council that needs a kick, it’s the Senedd, too." James Clarke thought Welsh independence is the answer, writing: "The train network isn't fit for purpose. Hasn't been for years. It needs more capacity that means more carriages. Doesn't help that the UK government won't give Wales full control. At least then politicians can't play pass the parcel blame wise."
But some defended the service, such as Jamie Jones who pointed out "improvement is clearly on the way". He wrote: "Do the public not realise that Transport For Wales is now a further two trains short due to the fire near Shrewsbury a few weeks ago? There’s no more trains available to add extra capacity onto services which need it most. Sadly, complaining will not get you extra trains which you’re all desperate for. They’re testing new trains on to the network which will increase capacity on all of the wales and boarders network", adding: "Not every service can be formed of 4 carriages."
Elaine Haigh expressed a similar view, saying that there is "still a long way to go, but at least they're trying". She wrote: "Does anyone really think that if they had additional carriages, they would just keep them lying around instead of putting them on during match days? Don't forget they lost 3 trains a couple of weeks ago when someone left a stolen digger on the tracks. There were no trains available to buy when TFW took over, so they've invested millions in ordering new stock which need to be built...that takes time and then they need testing. And most of that is to replace old stock, before even increasing capacity.
"Plus, they had no income for over a year! I don't recall all these complaints when the previous franchise offered an equally poor service with no investment or even proper maintenance! They are committed to improvements and have already invested significantly in refurbishment and safety."
Meanwhile Hazel Dickinson Wightman said such scenes were the norm across the globe, writing: "I don't see the problem. Packed trains and buses with people standing in the isles is normal during rush hour and special events in every city I have ever lived/travelled in that had commuter buses or trains. This includes Boston, NYC, Chicago, DC, Montreal, and Pittsburgh. Maybe expectations are different across the pond?"
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