Friday
26
April
Cambrian Railway firm fined £2.3m
13/01/2020 @ 12:40
A company involved in running train services along the Cambrian Railway has been fined £2.3m by the Welsh Government.
KeolisAmey was awarded the rail franchise for Wales and the Borders in October 2018. The franchise is managed by Transport for Wales, which is part of the Welsh Government.
Over recent months rail passengers in Newtown have been left with cancelled services and overcrowded trains.
Transport Minister Ken Skates said the fines had accumulated to £2.3m over a period of time. The money will be reinvested into rail services.
Last month it emerged that the Cambrian Railway would have new train stock delivered specifically for the line by 2022.
Kevin Thomas, Chief Executive of KeolisAmey Wales said: “I would like to apologise for the disruption caused to passengers over the past few months. We recognise that we have not been able to deliver the quality of service that we aim to and that our passengers across the network deserve.
“Working in partnership with Transport for Wales, we are undertaking a transformation of our railway that is going to take time, with our people working incredibly hard to deliver a programme of change for the benefit of our customers and communities.
“Whilst there is a complex journey of change and improvement ahead of us, it is encouraging to report that we are starting to see some improvements, with a 24 per cent reduction in network delay minutes following the introduction of our December timetable.
"We have welcomed the arrival of the Class 170’s, the recruitment of over 200 additional train crew and the introduction of more than 186 new Sunday Services.
"We have also reintroduced regular passenger services along the Halton Curve, between Wrexham/Chester and Liverpool, and seen the refurbishment of stations across the network, all at the same time as we’re investing £40 million in our existing fleet so that our passengers can enjoy a more comfortable and modern experience.
“Amongst this progress, we know we must do better, and we look forward to meeting with the Economy Minister next month as we all look to build on these improvements.”
KeolisAmey was awarded the rail franchise for Wales and the Borders in October 2018. The franchise is managed by Transport for Wales, which is part of the Welsh Government.
Over recent months rail passengers in Newtown have been left with cancelled services and overcrowded trains.Transport Minister Ken Skates said the fines had accumulated to £2.3m over a period of time. The money will be reinvested into rail services.
Last month it emerged that the Cambrian Railway would have new train stock delivered specifically for the line by 2022.
Kevin Thomas, Chief Executive of KeolisAmey Wales said: “I would like to apologise for the disruption caused to passengers over the past few months. We recognise that we have not been able to deliver the quality of service that we aim to and that our passengers across the network deserve.
“Working in partnership with Transport for Wales, we are undertaking a transformation of our railway that is going to take time, with our people working incredibly hard to deliver a programme of change for the benefit of our customers and communities.
“Whilst there is a complex journey of change and improvement ahead of us, it is encouraging to report that we are starting to see some improvements, with a 24 per cent reduction in network delay minutes following the introduction of our December timetable.
"We have welcomed the arrival of the Class 170’s, the recruitment of over 200 additional train crew and the introduction of more than 186 new Sunday Services.
"We have also reintroduced regular passenger services along the Halton Curve, between Wrexham/Chester and Liverpool, and seen the refurbishment of stations across the network, all at the same time as we’re investing £40 million in our existing fleet so that our passengers can enjoy a more comfortable and modern experience.
“Amongst this progress, we know we must do better, and we look forward to meeting with the Economy Minister next month as we all look to build on these improvements.”
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