Premier express, Holyhead to Cardiff, contract renewed

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Three year extension to Y Gerallt Gymro ...

... the announcement by Transport Minister Edwina Hart of a new contract for the express train.

The service is an early morning train from Holyhead to Cardiff Central and the evening return service offers the only first class carriage on the Arriva Trains Wales network and also includes a restaurant and a travelling chef.

The new contract will ensure the service will be extended for another three years.

Not everyone happy - see http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/wales-north-south-express-train-service-8825971?

But [North Wales Lib Dem AM Aled Roberts] said: ^In the year up until March 2014 the Premier Express Service between Holyhead and Cardiff cost Welsh Government almost ^3m.

^This service saves up to 20 minutes for people travelling to Cardiff in the morning but after it arrives the train stands doing nothing before returning to Holyhead in the evening.

^Surely the money would be better spent on speeding up all trains by looking at track improvements rather than providing a slightly faster train that spends most of its time sitting in some sidings in Cardiff.

[grahame]

A very interesting discussion yesterday evening over dinner with guests (distant relatives) who flew in to Dublin (from the USA), hired a car, took the high speed ferry to Holyhead and drove to Cardiff to visit their son who's studying the political system at the Welsh assembly at present. Noting also the flights that are available from Anglesey to Cardiff -  http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=6400.msg68819

North Wales has economic links to the North West of England (and George very much understood that).  Mid Wales has a much smaller economy - lots of mountains and green field and not really a developed industrial area. South Wales has economic links to the Bristol area and then through the Thames Valley.    Rather than looking to live on the fringes on the two English regions, should Wales as a country be looking to have full economic linkage between the south and the north.   Rail was discounted by our visitors, flying discounted for being too expensive, and the idea of a motorway was mooted - perhaps coming from personal experience as the drive from Holyhead to Cardiff hadn't turned out to be quite as quick or easy as they had anticipated.

In general, this does raise the point as to whether north / south linkages in Wales should be viewed purely on a BCR^▸ (Benefit Cost Ratio) type evaluation, or in the wider context of social and political engineering to bring the country together. Some interesting discussion - in the pub, but throwing an interesting light on the different metrics of Wales to England.

Our visitors were from the USA;  I'm essentially English though I have a welsh name, and I would be interested to read comment here from some of those who truly know what this is about - who are welsh and live in Wales ...

[phile]

The road Network through Mid-Wales is horrenduous and slow in places.  Short of dual-carriageway, twisting bends and a stretch of the A470 (main trunk road between North and South) even resembling a country lane on one stretch.

[ellendune]

Rather than looking to live on the fringes on the two English regions, should Wales as a country be looking to have full economic linkage between the south and the north.   

I thought that was what the Welsh Government were trying to do with the oft criticised North Wales Cardiff service. 

Rail was discounted by our visitors, flying discounted for being too expensive, and the idea of a motorway was mooted - perhaps coming from personal experience as the drive from Holyhead to Cardiff hadn't turned out to be quite as quick or easy as they had anticipated.

Trying to engineer a 3 lane motorway through mid Wales would be, to say the least, highly challenging. 

Even if the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line were reopened and improved to a good line speed, the section from Dovey Junction to Pwllheli will always be slow though a faster route could probably be found from their to Caernarfon.  However what is really required is a Llandudno Junction Aberystwyth Swansea line with some decent line speeds. 

We must also remember that Wrexham is a major population centre in North Wales so that needs to be linked in as well. The current rout is starting to look not too bad for the price. Perhaps some more money spent on capacity and line speed improvements there would be more cost effective.