Arriva Trains Wales (ATW; ) was a Welsh train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operated the Wales & Borders franchise. It ran urban and inter-urban passenger services to all railway stations in Wales, including , , , , and , as well as to certain stations in England including (but not limited to) , , , Crewe, and .
In August 2003, Arriva UK Trains was awarded the newly created Wales & Borders franchise by the Strategic Rail Authority, with Arriva Trains Wales beginning operation during December 2003, taking over from Wales and Borders. Following the implementation of the Railways Act 2005 and Transport (Wales) Act 2006, responsibility for the franchise was devolved to the Welsh Government, which worked closely with Arriva Trains Wales during its period of operations. Numerous service changes were made under the company's management; on 6 February 2008, the Ebbw Valley Railway was partially re-opened to passenger services for the first time in over 40 years. Another high-profile change during December of that year was the inauguration of the locomotive-hauled Holyhead to Cardiff Premier Service.
In March 2010, Arriva Trains Wales' application to reinstate a direct Aberystwyth to London Marylebone service was rejected by the Office of Rail Regulation due to concerns over its financial viability, as well as the potential severe revenue abstraction from other operators such as Wrexham & Shropshire. In July 2012, the Department for Transport announced that the Cardiff Valley Lines would be electrified, although this ambition would not be substantiated during Arriva Train Wales' franchise period. During the mid-2010s, as the franchise period was nearing its end, tenders were sought for its next operator; Arriva Trains Wales' publicly withdrew from the process in October 2017 despite having been shortlisted. On 23 May 2018, KeolisAmey Wales was selected as the winning bid. On 13 October 2018, Arriva Trains Wales' franchise came to an end, operations being transferred to successor operator KeolisAmey that same day.
History During March 2000, the UK government announced its plans to create a separate Wales & Borders franchise. In October 2001, the two National Express-operated franchises, Valley Lines and Wales & West, were reorganised, after which the new Wales & Borders franchise assumed responsibility for the majority of services in Wales as shown on its map. The services from Birmingham New Street to Chester, Aberystwyth, and Pwllheli operated by Central Trains were also transferred. In October 2002, a shortlist of Arriva, Connex/GB Railways, National Express and Serco/NedRailways were shortlisted to bid for the new franchise period.
On 1 August 2003, the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the new franchise to Arriva UK Trains. The new franchise was for fifteen years, with performance reviews every five years; Arriva Trains Wales took over the services operated by Wales & Borders on 7 December 2003. The next five-yearly review period concluded on 31 March 2013. On 28 September 2003, the services from Birmingham New Street, Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno and Holyhead, as well as those between Bidston and Wrexham Central and between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog, operated by First North Western, were transferred to the new Wales & Borders franchise.
As a result of the Railways Act 2005 and the Transport (Wales) Act 2006, responsibility for the franchise was later devolved to the Welsh Government. Subsequently, the Welsh Government closely coordinated with Arriva Trains Wales in the management and development of the railway network within Wales. Changes included the introduction of direct services between North and South Wales, and the reintroduction of passenger services on previously freight-only portions of the Vale of Glamorgan Line and Ebbw Vale Line.
At its height, ATW operated over a route length of 1691 km, with 253 diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars and 22 locomotive-hauled passenger carriages. Its busiest Welsh stations were , and in South Wales, and and in North Wales.
ATW operated almost all services in Wales, with the exception of: /// to (First Great Western) Cardiff Central to or (First Great Western) Cardiff Central to or (Virgin CrossCountry) /Bangor/Wrexham General to London Euston (Virgin Trains West Coast) various heritage railways
Performance
In October 2006, ATW was ranked seventh best (out of 21 companies) with an above average 89.9% of trains 'on time' according to Network Rail statistics. The latest figures released by NR (Network Rail) rate punctuality (Public Performance Measure) at 96.1% for period 7 of the 2013/14 financial year. The MAA (Monthly Annual Average) figure for the 366 days up to 12 October 2013 is currently at 93.9%.
In September 2017, a review on the conditions during a regular peak commute was published by 'Stu's Reviews'. This review was publicised through several of the national news networks, including Wales Online, and BBC Wales.
Welsh-language services
The Welsh Language Act 1993 requires all public bodies to provide services to the public through the medium of Welsh as well as English. As a private company and not a public body, Arriva Trains Wales was not legally required to provide service in Welsh, but it did conduct some business in Welsh. All stations previously run by Arriva Trains Wales where the Welsh and English names differed had both names displayed, with a few minor omissions. Arriva did not display Welsh names in the English stations which it managed, such as Chester (), Shrewsbury (), or Hereford (), but included the Welsh names in its now discontinued printed timetables and other publicity material. There were bilingual signs at Hereford, for example, warning against trespassing on the railway.
Arriva Trains Wales introduced bilingual display screens and announcements in at least 46 stations.
In 2004, ATW introduced a Welsh-language telephone line. Its website was named the "Best Website of The Year in the Technology Wales Awards 2004".
Routes
North Wales Services along the North Wales Coast Line terminated at and . Llandudno services ran every hour to Manchester Piccadilly via and . Holyhead services ran every hour, to via Chester and , then alternately to or . Request stations west of Llandudno Junction (Conwy, , , , , , and ) were generally served by alternate trains. The Conwy Valley Line were operated by a single train running between Llandudno and , with six return journeys a day. The private Ffestiniog Railway operated connecting services between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Minffordd near Porthmadog.
Services on the Borderlands Line ran from to on the Wirral Peninsula, crossing the North Wales Coast Line at . This line connected with main-line services at Wrexham General; with North Wales Coast line services at Shotton; and with electrified lines operated by Merseyrail at Bidston. It may be converted to electric operation in the future.
Mid Wales Cambrian Line services consisted of trains from to , Birmingham New Street and every two hours. Services from joined this train at . Services were operated exclusively by Class 158 Express Sprinters, as they were the only units fitted with the necessary equipment for the ERTMS system used on the line.
The single-track nature of this line, coupled with the busy terminus at Birmingham New Street, meant that delays had in some cases resulted in partial cancellation of services on this line. Beginning December 2008, most services had been extended to the less busy Birmingham International station, giving more flexibility in making up any lost time; this was also intended to help international students at Aberystwyth University gain easier access to an airport.. The Heart of Wales Line had services from to Shrewsbury via and four or five times a day. It was marketed by Arriva Trains Wales as a scenic, rural line, with special rover tickets available.
South Wales ATW operated an hourly long-distance service from to Manchester Piccadilly via and the Welsh Marches Line. Some off-peak services terminated at or originated from Cardiff Central, and continued to or came from every two hours. There was also one service per day from Fishguard Harbour to Manchester Piccadilly, but not in the other direction. Some services operated to Tenby, Pembroke Dock, Carmarthen and Maesteg from Manchester Piccadilly.
ATW also operated a service every two hours from Cardiff Central to via , other branches of the West Wales Line as served by trains from Swansea and Cardiff Central. Trains operated a shuttle service between Swansea and Cardiff Central (known as Swanline), calling at more minor stations than the Great Western Railway InterCity services did.
ATW also operated the Heart of Wales line between Shrewsbury and Swansea via , with four trains per day in each direction. Special trains extending into South East Wales operated to Builth Road during the Royal Welsh Show annually in July.
Cardiff and Valleys
The Valley Lines network, previously operated as a separate franchise, was a collection of urban lines in Cardiff and the surrounding area, including the South Wales Valleys and the Vale of Glamorgan. Arriva Trains Wales also operated a service from to . Stations in the valleys north of Cardiff experienced strong passenger growth, as a result of which there was a new half-hourly service launched (Pontypridd-Treherbert, Abercynon-Aberdare, Abercynon-Merthyr Tydfil and in the future Bargoed to Rhymney). Service frequency growth at the fringes was a significant problem because of often lengthy single-track sections. Between the larger towns and Cardiff, these services combined to provide at least one train every 15 minutes, with six trains previously ran per hour between Pontypridd and Cardiff, and four trains per hour between Bargoed and Cardiff. Stations on the Treherbert and Rhymney branch lines were lengthened to accommodate six-car trains to cope with future growth demand for commuting into and out of the capital.
On 6 February 2008, the Ebbw Valley Railway was partially re-opened to passenger services for the first time in over 40 years. It provided an hourly service from Ebbw Vale Town railway station (opened 17 May 2015) to Cardiff Central calling at Ebbw Vale Parkway, , Newbridge, , , , Pye Corner, and Cardiff Central. One year after opening, the line had carried 573,442 passengers, beating all targets set by the Welsh Assembly Government. Saturday trains ran as four-car formations instead of the standard two. Extra carriages were also added during school holidays when demand was high. Possible developments that never saw the light of day also included restoring the service between Ebbw Vale and Newport; before Arriva discontinued operations, the proposal awaited Network Rail and Welsh Government approval. If it has been implemented, it would have provided an hourly service between Newport and Ebbw Vale. Due to the end of Arriva Train Wales' operations, any further plans will now be implemented under TFW.
In July 2012, the Department for Transport announced that the Cardiff Valley Lines would be electrified, although no timescale has been given. This will entail replacement of the life-expired Pacer railbuses by new or cascaded stock. This project did not emerge within the Arriva Trains Wales era, and shall now occur under the auspices of successor operator TFW.
Welsh Marches and Border Services between and Newport formed part of other ATW services already mentioned, such as to , or to Manchester Piccadilly. Coming north, after calling at (for connections to Mid-Wales), trains for North Wales go to via Wrexham General, and trains for Manchester go to .
Premier Service