In February, this blog pointed out that the re-evaluation of road schemes disproportionately favoured the south. Now an article in railwatch magazine reveals that Transport for Wales (TfW) is seeking to patch the holes in its schedule caused by failures of ageing stock and late delivery of replacements by shifting Sprinters from the north to the south, leaving the Wrexham-Bidston line as a virtual bus replacement service.
TfW states that it needs the Sprinters because the class 175 trains, once so comfortable and reliable, are now breaking down and requiring long repairs. Sometimes, we are told, they catch fire.
In any case, they are soon to be dispatched to other companies as arranged by the Office of Rail and
Road (ORR) possibly before the necessary supplies of new trains arrive.
There are electrification projects down south but nothing is being considered in our area, not even electrification of the North Wales main line which has been crying out for modernisation for years.
"Levelling-up" just does not happen in Wales, certainly as far as the railways are concerned.
There is a belt of parliamentary seats stretching across England and into North Wales which used to be regarded as safe socialist seats, held by Labour of Plaid Cymru. They were captured by the Tories in 2019 as part of their "blue wall" strategy. The partners in the current Welsh government were hoping to recapture those "blue" North Wales seats, but apparent discrimination against the north in both road and rail will tarnish their appeal. The Conservatives may well hang on, or horror of horrors! Liberal Democrats (who have a good record on rail electrification) could ride home on the issue.
[Acknowledgements to TfW for the photos]
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