For the Cambrian it also says the removal of four services between Machynlleth and Pwllheli (two in each direction).  Im surprised the 158s will still be around into 2025. 

I have had a good look at the timings of Swanline and other Carmarthen-Cardiff services, it looks like the hours there is still a service between Carmarthen-Cardiff it does connect with the MK4 going to Manchester (but only just as its 7 minutes which is the minimum for Cardiff).  The service from West Wales arrives at xx46 and the Manchesters all seem to depart at xx53.  In the hours there isnt a fast service from Carmarthen there is the Swanline which arrives into Cardiff around xx34 and would connect with the MK4.  So not to bad but could be better.  Plus there is the 2 hourly direct service of course.  It would make sense to use that unless one wants to make use of the first class service on the MK4. Looking at the departures from Cardiff to West Wales its even worst than the up journeys.  The hour the Swanline runs is also the same hour a service from Manchester runs through to the West - so we have the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), TFW fast and TFW stopper all very close together.  Then the other hour when there is no fast services to West Wales there is no Swanline either so just the GWR then an hour gap (aside from the Maesteg).  It is also odd having a departure to Milford and then very close behind it a departure to Pembroke Dock.  Very little terminating at Carmarthen most seem to go through to one of the 3 branch lines.  The 1730 Manchester will run through to Carmarthen though which is very welcome as the loss of the 1830 Manchester-Carmarthen (due to a MK4 running it to Cardiff) meant 1530 was the last direct service to Carmarthen and 1630 the last direct to Swansea. 

Yes Ebbw Vale and the return of the hourly Liverpools were the only things that went ahead from what was initially planned for the Dec 23 timetable and even they were delayed I think. 

Hopefully the extra Tenby services will just be Camarthen-Tenby shuttles and they will be able to cram them into the existing timetable without too many problems.  Good point about holding the PMD trains at Whitland if there are delays, enough recovery time at PMD to compensate for that. 

I agree, the split doesnt bother me either but from what I hear 197s dont like being split or attached but hopefully that will improve in time.

When the original timetable plans were announced back when TFW first took over the franchise it was said all Swansea-Manchesters would be 5 carriages with less carriages between Swansea-West Wales.  Of course when they decided to get more MK4s, keep some of 153s and get rid of the 170s everything changed with 153s and some 197s replacing the journeys the 170s would have done and the MK4 replacing some 197s on the Manchester-South Wales.

it would be far better if the MK4's turned at Swansea every 2 hours rather than Cardiff, especially as now there is a gap between Carmarthen-Cardiff at various parts of the day. They would still have a through service from Manchester-West Wales the other hour. But it feels like Cardiff-Swansea-Carmarthen passengers lose out every other hour with a gap in service and when it does run 2 carriages instead of the promised 5 cars. It seems Cardiff-Manchester is being prioritised over West of Cardiff as usual.   Services between Swansea-Cardiff are very busy especially on Fridays and Saturdays - plenty of leisure traffic going to Cardiff for the afternoon/evening from around 10am onwards on these days, I dont think they have finalised the Saturday timetable yet but hopefully when they do they will keep the hourly fast TFW service.  Although as you say, if there isnt a train people just wont turn up and will just go for the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) either side.

When the original plans for the Dec 2023 timetable were released a year or so ago it was said there would be enough 197s to run 5 cars every hour between Swansea-Cardiff, with one hour going through to Manchester with a MK4 Cardiff-Manchester the other hour.  In that case there should be a few spare 197s around to ensure some swanline's are doubled up to 4 cars which will be needed given the extra stops at Pencoed etc and less fast services between Swansea-Cardiff. 

The  plans for Dec 2023 said Maesteg-Ebbw Vale and Cardiff-Cheltenham would all be hourly and have 2 car 197s.  Swanline and Pembroke Dock would remain as 153s until the FLIRTS could take over the Maesteg/Ebbw Vale/Cheltenham routes and then those 197s would be used for Swanline and Pembroke. 

Regarding the Crewe-Shrewsbury stopper that is a bit of a strange one as around this time last year it was a 197 pretty much every day but apparently on paper it was a single 153. I assume as 197's didnt start running to Cardiff until last Summer and to Swansea/Carmarthen last Autumn it was just an easy route to put a 197 on as resources were so stretched and they were cleared from Shrewsbury to Crewe early on.  Apparently now it is booked and usually is a 153.   I had heard that the 153s will also be used on the Crewe stopper as well as a few west wales services long term (along with the HOWL) this is going to mean Crewe has to continue signing 153s? As apparently the plan was just Shrewsbury and Carmathen would sign 153s for the HOWL

Yes the merging of Swanline with Pembroke Dock will save diagrams - another reason why hopefully some of them will be doubled up to 4 cars with all these spare 197s -  but id be concerned any delays will have a knock on effect. Especially as they have to pass each other at Tenby, one delay is likely to have a knock on effect all day then. 

As for the Cambrian i dont really have much knowledge of that line and have never been on it. I have been to Aberystwyth and Barmouth but by road.   But from what i hear the main issue with the Cambrian is overcrowded services in Summer when they are 2 cars.

I doubt the 0835 arrival into Cardiff will make the final timetable. With a Swanline arriving 1 minute ahead of it. That is definately going to risk the performance of the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway). 

Im also surprised the Swanline's depart 2 mins after the GWR - is that even allowed for them to be so close  - they are only 5 minutes behind at Neath which includes stops at Llansamlet and Skewen.  It looks far too tight. 

Im not a fan of the splitting of services at Swansea either.  But it should work both ways and any Camarthen-Cardiff services should gain extra carriages at Swansea and then back from Cardiff not just the ones that go to/come from Manchester.

The Pembroke Dock-Swanline is a risk given the single line and crossing at Tenby and the impact of Swanline on the main line/arrival into Cardiff.  I wonder if its to ensure Carmarthen gets at least 1 train per hour direct to Cardiff on average during the day given some Carmarthen to Cardiff fast services have been axed. 

I hope all Swanline is formed of 197s by December!  They havent got a hope of keeping to time if formed of 153s

It looks like the consultation is online although I suppose people could write a letter if they didnt want to do it/couldnt do it online.  Havent heard of them having public meetings however. 

I believe the stations between STJ^▸ (Severn Tunnel Junction railway station) and Cardiff are related to the Metro which is being kept seperate to the core TFW services. 

TFW have a consultation for the future timetable. 

https://haveyoursay.tfw.wales/strategic-future-timetable-review?fbclid=IwAR1F_zm4kuFzZ7A46IeSr7yjpw7ULTUIJaniOTA0KU57aRLHS3fCneOdrDk_aem_AdmWEoId3Rp5fsisXf-wC-Ru0xrxvH3d0e0mbEPjBbrw8s_BkdDy5LSH1ANJETC3AAQ

Apparently they hope to implement these changes from the December 2024 timetable change.  But there is a consulation open until May so things could change, but draft timetables are included.  This consultation does not include the Cardiff Metro/Valley routes as these are separate to the rest of the core network but does include Vale of Glamorgan, Maesteg and Ebbw Vale. 

It seems to me they have backtracked on a lot of the promises made back in late 2022 for the Dec 2023 timetable (most of which were deferred until this December anyway but now they have cancelled may things alltogether).

What is particularly disappointing is the lack of hourly Swanline service that was promised, although there appear to be improvements to both the morning and evening timetable with an hourly service from around 6.30am-9.30am in both directions plus extra services in the evening.

Also the HOWL has taken a step backwards by going back to 4 trains per day and pretty much the timetable used before Dec 2022. The Cambrian also loses services but I dont have any first hand experience with this route so cant comment.

Good to see extra services for West Wales particularly Haverfordwest and Milford Haven and the long awaited hourly all day service between Cardiff-Cheltenham but thats about it!

Most surprising of all is a few Camarthen-Cardiff services cancelled entirely (ive spotted at least 2 that dont go Manchester anymore due to the MK4's from Cardiff have been removed alltogether).  This results in around an hour gap twice in the morning between Swansea-Cardiff which surprises me.  Both the 0853 and 1058 services from Carmarthen to Cardiff are cancelled.

Also the 06xx Carmarthen-Manchester will go via the district line. It used to be the service an hour earlier that did that but of course that is now the daily MK4 from Swansea to Manchester (which is actually booked for a 197 at the moment but thats a different story) but running the service that used to pass Neath around 7am via the SDL isnt good news for Swansea and Neath passengers.

I agree about Carmarthen, they often seem to have cancellations due to not enough train crew.

Also ive noticed recently random trains seem to be removed from the timetable, not cancelled just removed as if they were never there.  The 1105 Swansea-Cardiff is an example of this. A few weeks ago i wanted to catch it but ended having to get the 1203 fast train instead.

The Royal Welsh Special train being cancelled two days out of four this year was nothing short of shocking! Given the event only runs for 4 days out of 365 train crew should have been prioritised to work these services and all others on the HOWL for these 4 days.  Even if it meant cancelling some Carmarthen-Cardiff workings (its not as if unusual for trains to be cancelled on this route!).

Im aware that only Carmarthen train crew can work the South of the HOWL line, so im wondering how its supposed to work when the Royal Special runs. Do Carmarthen train crew travel to Cardiff by taxi or on another service. Its not as if the train crew can change at Swansea like some other workings as the special goes via the district line.  Either way they should have ensured this was prioritised for the 4 days.

With the Tenby/Pembroke line being unreliable too it puts me off a day trip there. They really need to sort it out.  We said last Summer things would be better this Summer but if anything its even worse! 

The 197s coming to West Wales cant come soon enough. Seeing so many overcrowded 150s working from Milford-Manchester is really unacceptable. Its gone on since March. And wasnt great before then. Nearly 6 months of an appalling service!

ive heard the 197s will be running very soon on West Wales services to Manchester/Cardiff.  They have already started running Holyhead to Cardiff.   The 2 afternoon Swansea/Llanelli-Chester (Swanline) have been split at Cardiff in recent weeks so a 197 can operate East of Cardiff.  It was supposed to switch to 197 for the entire service with the May TT change.  Not sure what the issue is but hopefully it can be resolved very soon. Getting fed up waiting now!

 

Ive heard that Swanline and Cardiff-Holyhead will be 197s from the May TT change however whether this will be a few diagrams or all of them remains to be seen.

It looks like both the 15xx from Swansea and the 16xx from Llanelli end up going to Chester as they do now. Could this be a sign they will be 197s, or at least 1 of them will be, so the diagram/s end at the depot in Chester.  The one that comes down from Holyhead to Llanelli is no longer showing as a through working from May TT change and will start from Cardiff to Llanelli (it still goes via the district line on the down journey). Could be a sign all Swanlines will be formed of 2 diagrams again and no interworking as such with other routes.

Yes looks like the Treherbert closure will free up a few 150s. No doubt needed for some of the former 170 diagrams in the short term with only 3 staying until November when more 197s should be in place by then.

Around 6 weeks on and the situation is slowly improving both with the 175s and introduction of the 197s.  Although neither is happening fast enough really as there is still an abundance of 2 carriage 150s or 153s on long distance routes.  I had the misfortune of having to stand on a 150 the other day for quite a bit of time. There were many people travelling with large suitcases and a 150 is not ideal for large items of luggage with no luggage racks and many suitcases far too large for the overhead racks. A few of the tip up seats were blocked by suitcases and unfortunately there was nowhere they could really be moved to. So not ideal at all.  One thing 150 do have in favour over a 175 is if you have to stand on a train you have a bit more space to move around on a 150 than a 175 with the doors in the middle.  But a quick look at TFW social media pages on Twitter etc show it wasn't a great weekend on the Marches with lots of complaints and photos of overcrowded Sprinters.  The North Wales coast has done a bit better with some 197s doubled up to form 4 cars. Not seen many complaints from there so fingers crossed things are improving slowly. 

The 197 introduction seems frustratingly slow!  However it is getting better with a few 4 cars now plus it looks like Conwy Valley and Liverpool have their services back  now (as 197s).  One even made it to the Crewe-Chester shuttle today but only for 1 service, it was switched to a 175 after that (a real waste of resources when many 150s/153s are on long distance, unless there was a good reason for it, like it couldn't venture far from Chester depot!)   I wonder when we can realistically see the 197s on services out of Cardiff. I hope something starts to happen when the new timetable happens next month.

Regarding the 170s, more have left TFW for EMR^» (East Midlands Railway, also known as EMT^» (East Midlands Trains - about) (East Midlands Trains) - about). But apparently 3 are being kept until November which is a sensible move given the shortage at the moment of suitable trains.  Even if all 175s are back by May, it will take the pressure off a bit with those few extra 170s.

I think the problem is Chester depot cant cope with maintaining the 197s and 175s. It was inevitable there would be a transition phase between the 2 fleets but unfortunately the decision to concentrate the 197s in the North initially has resulted in the Marches being the big losers, at least until enough Cardiff and Carmarthen can be trained on 197s.

Having now been on a 197 from Chester to Manchester earlier this month, we are definitely in for an improvement once they are fully rolled out in the South. A big upgrade on every type of Sprinter and also preferred them to the 175s. 

The only reason i think the 175s could go sooner is because they will be gone by December anyway. If they can hang onto some 170s for a bit longer and also get as many 197s onto the Marches as possible from May they may be able to just about cope. Time will tell I guess.   All TFW have said it the 175s are out of service for safety checks, i think they provided an update earlier this week saying the same thing about more trains than usual needing repairs etc.

Also I agree about the 158s. Ive always rated them very highly, especially since ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) did their big refurbishment of them around 2010/2011 but I also liked them before that and also liked the Wessex trains version of them.  Infact before the 175s had their refurbishment when TFW took over the 158s were my favourite of the ATW/TFW trains, we just didnt get them often enough on the Marches due to them being tied to the Cambrian/Birmingham/Holyhead services. 

Well over two weeks later and still only around 3 or 4 175s in service.  It will be interesting to see what happens. Will they be repaired and cleared for service or they might they just scrap them and manage with the combination of 158s, 153s and 150s on the Marches until the 197s are there.   It seems by cancelling a number of services in the Valley's and West Wales, cutting back Shrewsbury-Birmingham to Wolverhampton, bus replacement on the Conwy Valley and cancelling the relatively new Newport-Cross Keys and Chester-Liverpool services they have freed up enough Sprinters to just about cope.  Fortunately some services on the Marches are 158s but a good proportion are 150 and 153s which arent great.

Interestingly yesterday one of the 4 175s that was actually in service did a HOWL service from Shrewsbury to Swansea before returning to Chester on the 1505 Swanline/Chester service. Assume this was a stock movement as there wasnt a sprinter available in Shrewsbury.  A sprinter then got swapped at Swansea and did the HOWL whilst the 175 did the Chester service.

Todays Railways magazine says TFW are in talks about keeping some 170s for longer. From May 175s were meant to go on the Maesteg to Cheltenhams with 150s I think on Ebbw Vale to compensate for the loss of all the 170s.   Could this be a sign that TFW would rather keep the 170s a bit longer and get rid of the 175s?  Nothing set in stone of course!

Apparently the majority of TFW 175 fleet is out of service today due to 'more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time'.  Apparently only 5 in service and just 1 diagram on the Manchester-South Wales (1130 from Manchester).   An abundance of Sprinters are substituting, fortunately a few are 158s but mostly pairs of 153s or 150s.  I have seen a number of complaints on twitter,  poor TFW online team I wouldn't want to be them today. 

It seems they have cancelled all trains between Carmarthen and Milford, Birmingham-Wolverhampton and reduced services in the South Wales Valleys to free up Sprinters to cover. 

I imagine the Landore loop and Carmarthen avoider isnt an issue as it is such a short amount of track.  Even the district line isnt much of an issue for a guard/ticket inspector given there are no stops on the line. The main role of the guard is to ensure any passengers for Neath and Swansea arent still on board! The last time i caught the 1830 Manchester I was alighting in Port Talbot anyway, but it was the going via the district line they were very efficient at walking through the train and checking where everyone was alighting and ensuring anyone for Neath and Swansea changed at Port Talbot. 

I used my Swanline station today for a trip to Cardiff as the timings worked out ok for me.  The up journey was going through to Manchester and 3 carriages but fairly quiet unlike a usual Saturday when everytime ive used it recently its been rammed.  When waiting for my return journey at Cardiff the Manchester service (1453) was formed of a 150 and departed about 3 minutes before the train from West Wales (from Swansea today due to engineering works) arrived.  So definitely wouldn't have maintained a connection! Seems a bit pointless splitting the service when the MK4's arent even ready yet, maybe May would have been more realistic.  And today one was subbed for a 150 not even a 175!! The 1512 Swanline was also a 2 car 175. Thats usually a pair of 153s on a Saturday.  150 on Manchester and 175 on Swanline seemed the wrong way around!   Overall a fairly quiet problem free journey in both directions to end the year.  Lets hope before this time next year the service will always been as efficient with the much needed improvements all implemented. 

Im not sure what is happening with the Swansea District Line and Swansea avoider at Landore.

At the moment Monday-Friday we have the 12xx Fishguard-Cardiff and 15xx Cardiff-Llanelli (which used to be a Swanline but now the Swanline stops are picked up by the 1604 Cardiff-Fishguard instead creating a big gap in the afternoon but better timings for peak time).  Also what was the 1830 Manchester-Carmarthen, since the TT change last week is now split at Cardiff but the replacement still goes via the district line Mon-Thurs.

On weekends, I think the afternoon Fishguard-Cardiff goes via Landore on both Saturday and Sunday, unsure if anything goes via the district on Saturday but I think on Sunday at least one  Cardiff-Milford goes via the district.

Id imagine they will still have to keep up route knowledge for the occasions when engineering works take place between Swansea-Llanelli.

I was surprised to see that the Manchester services will extend to Fishguard every 2 hours. In the other direction because of the way the timings work the return journey from Fishguard will terminate in Cardiff whilst the service going through to Manchester will be from Milford. Hourly to Haverfordwest would be useful given its quite a large town, the largest in Pembrokeshire I think and could do with a better service east to Carmarthen/Swansea and beyond.

The timings for Swanline have always been a bit too tight IMO^▸ (in my opinion) and they could do with an extra minute or so for each stop. The stops are so frequent between Swansea and Port Talbot there is barely any time once the train gets going before it slows down again.  This is why them being picked up by what should be the fast regional express trains isnt ideal.  If they are using 153s as a stopgap until the 197s are free that could run into problems with keeping to time. 197s should be good for Swanline with the doors in the middle of the carriages.

Hopefully there will be a late Swanline from Cardiff. Either that or the stops get picked up by the last Cardiff-Carmarthen as now. Currently there is a massive gap in the evening with a Swanline departing Cardiff around 1904 then nothing until the last one at 2315.  So having hourly Swanline until 2050 is a good thing but we need a later train as well.

I think the original plan may have been to have the MK4's go to Swansea every 2 hours and turn there with a replacement between Swansea-Carmarthen (or wherever it was terminating Fishguard, Milford etc) then the other hour run through to Carmarthen/Milford from Manchester as now.  This would have been better IMO rather than them terminating in Cardiff. But there just dont seem to be enough with them being used on some Holyheads too.