Improving Welsh Rail Services

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:14 pm on 19 February 2019.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:14, 19 February 2019

I thank the Member for that question and for the work, of course, that he did in ensuring that we are in a position to bring about these improvements here in Wales. Over the next couple of years, Transport for Wales will introduce additional rolling stock. In this year, those additional trains will be used to relieve crowding and to introduce new services. That will be a precursor to new trains that we will be introducing over the next couple of years. We will act to make sure that the physical facilities at our stations are improved in this calendar year by an enhanced deep-cleaning programme in place throughout Wales. From December of this year, there will be a 22 per cent increase in Sunday mileage and additional services for passengers on those days. There will be work done to make sure that passengers are better informed about the services that are being provided. We are dealing with a new ticketing regime that will see 3,000 new advance fares to reduce the cost of travel for long-distance journeys. These are just some of the things that we will be doing here in Wales to make sure that people in Wales have a service that they deserve and will be proud of into the future.