Member of the Senedd for Monmouth, Peter Fox, has expressed his concerns about resilience on the Welsh Marches line, following a further major delay.
Due to a “track defect” found in the Pontrillas area, between Abergavenny and Hereford, the line towards Shrewsbury was closed on Tuesday afternoon. Whilst southbound trains were permitted to go through, northbound trains were cancelled.
Passengers on these services were being directed back towards Newport to seek assistance, with some advised they would need to travel to Bristol, before changing at Birmingham, to continue their journey north.
Mr Fox has been vocal in calling for resilience improvements to Wales’ railway network, following a series of major incidents that have caused delay all across the network.
He is due to visit the Welsh Rail Operating Centre in September, and will be raising this, and the matter in general with Network Rail and Transport for Wales.
Local MS for Monmouth, Peter Fox, has said:
“There can be issues with railway lines for a number of reasons, but this is the fourth major issue to impact on the line between Abergavenny and Cardiff in as many months.
“Yesterday’s delay would have had a major impact on passengers, commuters and the network itself, with people being forced to take major diversions to complete their journey, and the cancellations having a ripple effect both towards Cardiff, and in the North.
“Our railway needs major improvements, and this needs to start with resilience improvements. I have called on the Welsh Government to make these, but they seem content to just glorify the recent investment from UK Government, which as of yet, we still do not know how it will be spent.
“I am looking forward to visiting the WROC in September and will certainly raise the issue of resilience with Network Rail and Transport for Wales.”
