Safety on Trains

Part of 2. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:36 pm on 29 June 2021.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:36, 29 June 2021

(Translated)

Well, I could attempt to do so, of course. Because the context is different. And those issues that Siân Gwenllian has raised, and those experiences that people have had, of course I'm aware of that, and I have seen what's been happening. But these are difficult practical challenges. Passengers on trains do enter and leave trains in every station, which is utterly different to the situation in a cafe of course. And what the people running the system are endeavouring to do is to assess a number of different factors that could lead to risks within the system. It would be possible to run more trains, and in so doing reduce overcrowding. But that would mean that we would have to cut down on the current hygiene regime, which in itself reduces the risk of infection, particularly for the staff working on those trains. So, there are no simple solutions to these problems. What I am convinced of is that everyone working in this area is working every day to try and run the system in a way that keeps people safe—those working on the railways and those train passengers too. And they're doing it in a scenario that is very challenging indeed, when we are trying to reopen society. We are trying to find more possibilities for people, and when they do travel in increasing numbers, then that's going to be challenging for the people running the systems that we have in place.