Railway Services in Islwyn

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:42 pm on 24 September 2019.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:42, 24 September 2019

Well, Llywydd, I do think it is important to be clear about what we're talking about. We are not talking about the generality of trains. We're talking about tram trains, and tram trains, at the moment, are proposed for introduction on those lines because they will provide access to far more communities than the current system is able to do. Trams will be able to go on the road, reach places that the current system cannot reach and they will increase access to those lines not restrict it. 

Now, Transport for Wales has looked everywhere around the globe to see if it is possible to procure new tram trains that have toilet facilities on them. There is only one place that we have been able to find anywhere in the world where there is a toilet on a tram train, and those are toilets that do not allow for disability access, because if you are driving a tram train, for safety reasons, the driver has to be able to have unimpeded sight lines from where he is driving the train right to the back of it. Nevertheless, the Minister has asked Transport for Wales to continue to see if it is possible to persuade a manufacturer, or to find a manufacturer capable of providing toilet facilities on tram trains in a way that would avoid the difficulties that the Member has identified.

In the meantime, if you look elsewhere in the United Kingdom, the Edinburgh tram system doesn't have toilets on it; the—