Member of the Senedd for Monmouth, Peter Fox, has called on the Welsh Government to prioritise investment on the Welsh Marches Line.
Mr Fox has been a vocal advocate for improving rail resilience in Wales, with a focus on the lines running through Monmouthshire and Torfaen.
During questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, the Monmouth MS highlighted the Marches line, which runs through Abergavenny, New Inn and Cwmbran between Hereford and Cardiff, is highly used, seeing 900,000 passengers in 2023/24.
Despite this, the line frequently sees high quantities of delays, with only 37.8% of trains arriving on time over a 12 week period in the summer, and repeated instances of track issues, defects, and problems when bad weather occurs.
Mr Fox declared “this is not good enough” and asked the Cabinet Secretary to ensure that more is done to improve resilience, starting with prioritising investment into the vital route.
Local MS for Monmouth, Peter Fox, has said:
“I have taken a keen interest in rail over the past year, and have taken the opportunity to explore as many aspects of rail travel as possible.
“By visiting the depot in Taff Wells, and also the Rail Operation Centre, I have seen the future of Welsh Rail Travel and how it all operates, but something is still missing on the Marches line.
“For such a vital route, carrying passengers from South Wales towards Manchester, Liverpool, Chester and North Wales, there is an astonishingly large amount of delays, closures and inconvenience for passengers.
“We know that severe weather can cause issues, but that is not a reason for all the delays and general problems seen. There must be resilience on the line to ensure it can cope when these problems arise.
“I will continue fighting for this improved resilience so that my residents, and commuters on the line, get the service they are paying for.”
