Transport for Wales (TfW) has advised that some of its services this week will be affected by train shortages and industrial action.

The train shortages are because Transport for Wales has temporarily withdrawn a number of its Class 175 trains so that additional maintenance checks can be carried out following some recent mechanical issues.

It was hoped that these checks would have been completed by Friday, 10th March, and the units would have now been back in service. However, the safety checks are still ongoing, so the disruption will likely continue for the remainder of this week.

The disruption will also affect other routes on the Wales and Borders network because, with the withdrawal of the Class 175s for safety checks, other trains will be moved to replace them to provide capacity where demand is highest.

Customers who wish to travel this week should therefore check for the latest information before they travel. This includes checking the times of the first and last trains, and any ferry connections, so as to ensure they have sufficient time.

The routes affected by the changes are:

• Newport to Crosskeys – service cancelled with no rail-replacement bus services.
• Chester to Liverpool – service cancelled, but tickets will be accepted on Merseyrail services.
• Conwy Valley Line – service cancelled, but a rail-replacement bus will operate.
• Wrexham to Bidston Line – service cancelled, but a rail-replacement bus will operate.
• West Wales lines – some services to Pembroke Dock until the end of this week will be cancelled but rail-replacement buses will operate.
• Services to Milford Haven and Fishguard – all services will be cancelled west of Carmarthen, but the majority of services will have rail-replacement buses.
• Cambrian Coast line– the early morning Barmouth service will be cancelled, but a rail-replacement bus will operate.
• Core Valley Lines – there will a reduced service on some routes.

Jan Chaudhry-Van der Velde, Chief Operations Officer at TfW, said: “The safety of our customers and colleagues remains our priority and it is important that all the necessary checks and repairs have been completed on each of our Class 175 trains before being allowed back into service.

“The Class 175s are maintained on our behalf by CAF at their depot in Chester, and while we have this shortage of rolling stock, we are moving trains around the network to try and minimise the impact on the busiest routes.
“We’re very sorry for any disruption to customers’ journeys while we work to carry out the repairs as quickly as possible.”

As well as problems with the Class 175 units, some services will be affected by industrial action on Thursday, 16th and Saturday, 18th March. The planned strike action at Network Rail by the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) has been suspended, there will still be strike action at 14 train operating companies. However, although Transport for Wales staff are not taking part, some Transport for Wales services may be affected as a result.

Changes to the timetabled services are as follows:

• Services between Chester and Liverpool will not run.
• Services will not call at Wilmslow.
• Services calling at Stockport will only set down towards Manchester and pick up only towards Crewe.
• Between South Wales and Cheltenham, services will terminate at Lydney before 09:15 and after 21:15.
• Between North Wales and Manchester, services will terminate at Chester before 07:00 and after 19:00.
• Services on the Marches Line will terminate at Shrewsbury.
• Services to Birmingham International will terminate at Birmingham New Street.

Cheltenham Festival

• Anyone travelling to Cheltenham Festival should seek alternative travel arrangements as there will be limited services to Cheltenham between 0915 and 2115 and they will be very busy. In addition, Gloucester station will be closed all day.

Jan Chaudhry-Van der Velde, Chief Operations Officer at TfW, added: “Strike action at 14 Train Operating Companies will still go ahead as planned. This will include station staff who are responsible for key operational roles such as train dispatch. As a result, we’re not able to provide some services at certain times to stations managed by the affected operators.”