passengers from the coast can still connect into it at Chester off the 0715 ex Holyhead,the whole idea of running non stop from LLandudno Junction to Chester is that it can get to Crewe Steel Works before the 0935 Chester to Euston gets to Beeston Castle,if it was going to be a unit instead of lhcs there would be sufficient time to call at rhyl and flint.in the 1980s there were 2 through trains a day to and from Cardiff,this idea that there was only ever one is erroneous, as for the May election it would be very difficult for Labour to get 31 seats in the senedd and it is quite likely that some form of coalition would be on the cards again,I cant see Labour getting into bed with the Libs or the Tories so there is every likelyhood that it will be same as it is now.I dont think Wrexham can complain , I remember when Mental trains ran only once every 2 hours and Worst North Festering ran 153s to Bidston(when they didnt turn round at Shotton), Wrexham has a damn good service these days. As for nationalists , arent English people Nationalists in the main?, that would explain why most of the time they call Britain England!
I have been around the Railways for 50 years in North Wales, I do not recall two trains a day from Holyhead to Cardiff in the 80s, the 1800 or so Cardiff to Holyhead which I used(loco hauled Western Region stock), I do not recall another direct train,perhaps you can enlighten me.
As Charlie Hume sees it, printed with permission.
http://www.nwrail.org.uk/nwnews.htm
WAG Express Mk 2
A press release from the Welsh Assembly Government reads:
The express rail link between north and south Wales is to increase to two return services a day, the Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones announced today (Monday 17 January). Thanks to £3.5 million support from the Welsh Assembly Government, Arriva Trains Wales is developing plans to lease additional rolling stock to operate the extra services from Holyhead to Cardiff. By paying to lease the trains up-front for seven years, as opposed to an annual basis, the Assembly Government will save the taxpayer £350,000. Arriva Trains Wales have secured the timetable slots for the second service and they will now develop a procurement process to obtain the rolling stock. Once this process is complete, further announcements will be made on when the service is due to begin.
Mr Jones said: 'The North-South express rail link plays a vital role in not only linking north and south Wales but also rural and urban communities. With extra funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, plans will now be developed to increase the service and provide an alternative transport option to the car. This is part of our commitment to encourage sustainable transport and improve links between the north and south of the country. I'm delighted that not only are we planning to increase the frequency of this service – a route that has already been enjoyed by thousands of commuters, shoppers and tourists – but also secured a considerable saving to the taxpayer by being smarter in the way we negotiate our contracts.'
This story seems to raise more questions than it answers, but we understand that the plan is to run a second train from Holyhead later in the morning than the current very early start, with a later return from Cardiff than the current train. Odd, perhaps, as one might perhaps have expected a service for the denizens of the south to spend a day in the north. We are hearing talk of Class 67s as proposed haulage, and a controversial non-stop run between Llandudno Junction and Chester, but the actual information is not to hand. 'If this is an express service then I'm a kangaroo' says North Wales AM Eleanor Burnham in a surrealistic mood. 'People are having to travel to Bangor to catch these trains, which then stop at Chester, Crewe and Shrewsbury. It should avoid stopping in England rather than along the North Wales coast.'
We also cries from the Wrexham contingent, as the second train, like the first, is apparently to run via Crewe rather than reversing at Chester and serving Wrexham. Wrexham Council leader Aled Roberts explained to the press that the authority had campaigned for the present express to stop in the town. He added: 'Despite numerous requests for a timetable regarding the doubling of the track to Wrexham and the re-routing, in the meantime there has been no action by WAG. This announcement needs to be reversed – it is diabolical the people of Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire are being treated in this way.'
Does anyone have the detailed timetable for this train? It would also be interesting to know how the fares collected for these WAG services are distributed. Do they go into the pot to reduce the public subsidy, or boost Arriva's profits?
