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Which is why on the TAM lines there is the fudge that we have, tram-trains operating on heavy rail infrastructure, with a driver and fully safety critical guard on every service, with the promise of 4tph and a very short section of street running in the Bay to justify the tram-trains over...

There were at least 2 x 150s covering for 231s on Rhymney / Bargoed to Barry Island diagrams today as well.

"Spring" ends on 31 May and "some" of the CVL could just mean Pontypridd to Cardiff Bay. So if only 2 x 398s are in service on Pontypridd to Cardiff Bay by 31 May, that presumably counts as fulfilling this criteria

Either this event didn't go ahead, is still embargoed, or wasn't deemed newsworthy enough to be reported by any Welsh media outlet today. Not even TfW themselves are reporting about it on their news pages. https://news.tfw.wales/ Here's a lengthy article from Modern Railways from last November...

Why on earth do guards still need to get off the train first to check it's on the platform, when there are stop markers for drivers on every platform? I'm assuming it's a way of working that has never changed since BR days and the RMT are insisting it's something that never changes?

Will the Vale of Glamorgan line ever get shot of 150s? TfW must have a secret plan to keep 5 x 150s going indefinitely just to keep especially for the delight of VoG passengers.

There's no doubt that the 231s and 756s are the best trains that the Valleys has ever had and are everything that a modern commuter train should be. With hindsight, a fleet of 231s or 756s for the entire Valleys and all services in the South Wales Metro area network would've been absolutely...

I initially missed this - so 231s will move to mainline, presumably then the 756s will move over to Rhymney - Barry Island / Bridgend, with 150s going back on the TAM lines under the wires, whilst 398s sit at Taffs Well? How on earth will TfW spin that to the public?

TfW have 11 x 231s and a maximum of 8 are currently in service daily. So technically another 2 more could be in service on an hourly Rhymney - Cardiff diagram that is split from Bridgend, with 1 spare. But maybe 8 is the maximum that can be in service on any day, with 3 undergoing maintenance...

If the 398s are not able to operate in multiple once they enter passenger service, on the current timetable, it will be a big downgrade in capacity compared to the 756s, as one 398 is the same length as one 150, albeit with more standing room. This article that was quoted earlier in the thread...

Let's just suppose for a minute that the 398s are a failure and never enter service...whilst TfW might have a claim against Stadler for the fleet, and a new extra fleet of 231s or 756s will be needed...there's the matter of a brand new, multi million £ depot in Taffs Well that will become a...

Whatever happens with the 398s, they won't enter service before the Senedd election, as the May TT change is after the election on 7 May, so the fact the 398s are so heavily delayed won't register with most of the general public. All they will see is that the Valleys has new FLIRT trains...

So what happens when the final 150s go in the bin and there's nothing left to cover? Do TfW have enough 153s in storage to put back into passenger service in south Wales and on Rhymney to Bridgend?

I'd like to know what the thinking is in having the extra peak service just 10 minutes in the morning and 8 minutes in the evening, before the regular 1tph. It'll just result in the 1st service being rammed and the next one dead quiet, so the extra service ends up getting pulled. Why not space...

In the original franchise specification in 2018, Keolis Amey planned to run 2tph Bridgend - Barry - Cardiff, with 1tph continuing up to Bargoed / Rhymney and the other 1tph terminating at Cardiff Central, so there would've been 5tph Barry - Cardiff. This plan was cancelled after TfW did their...

This is being reported by local media today https://www.broradio.fm/news/local/half-hourly-vale-trains-delayed-again/ I rarely agree with Andrew RT Davies on anything, but in this case, he's correct. Whilst the Valley lines now have brand new Flirts, and increased frequencies to Pontypridd &...

Agreed that as a minimum, the lines from Cardiff to Penarth, Barry Island and Bridgend via Barry should be electrified, along with a passing loop on the Penarth branch. But this is the DfT's responsibility to fund, not Welsh Government's out of budgets from other devolved areas. This just...

Yes, that was in 2008 for the original Ebbw Vale line re-opening, as even back then, the then UK Labour government were refusing to fund it, even though it was DfT/NR's responsibility to do so. So Welsh Government had to take funds out of other devolved budgets and from local councils to fund...

"Funded by Welsh Government" and what devolved budgets would WG take money out of to pay for an electrification scheme that is Westminster's responsibility? Would health, education or local government see its budget cut? For as long as NR in Wales is DfT's responsibility, it's Westminster's...

Rhymney to Bridgend currently is 4 diagrams daily for the 1tph service to Bridgend. So if 4 car 756s or 231s won't fit in the VoG bay platform at Bridgend, TfW need to get some 150s through C6 overhauls, as there's not enough 3 car 756s in the fleet to run a full daily service on Penarth -...