4. Statement by the Minister for Economy and Transport: A Railway for Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:48 pm on 24 September 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 4:48, 24 September 2019

Can I thank Hefin David for his questions and for his contribution today? Let me be absolutely clear over which services will have trains that will still have toilets, and that will have toilets that are compatible with legislation concerning persons of restricted mobility. On the metro network, train services on the Rhymney line, on the Maesteg line, on the Ebbw line and on the Vale of Glamorgan line will all retain onboard toilet facilities. Tram trains will run on three lines, as I said earlier: they will run on the Treherbert, Merthyr and Aberdare lines. I hope that answers all queries regarding this issue about toilets.

In terms of capacity on the existing fleet, we are stretching every sinew to identify solutions to deal with capacity issues across the network, but we do recognise that there is a particular problem within the metro area, and that's why we are making every effort to identify rolling stock wherever we can across the UK to bring it into use here in Wales as soon as possible.