MPs attack rail body's 'failure'

Rail travellers in Wales are said to be losing out

MPs have severely criticised the way rail services from south Wales to the north of England were withdrawn.

Members of the Welsh Affairs Committee spent nine months examining the state of rail services in Wales.

They said the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), which plans the rail system and franchises train company contracts, failed in its legal duty to the assembly.

The report called for upgrades to the Great Western and north Wales main lines.

The committee took evidence from train operating companies, the SRA , Network Rail, the Rail Passengers' Committee and Transport Minister and Pontypridd MP Kim Howells.

Of the decision to withdraw services from south Wales to the north of England, the SRA was accused of failing in its legal duty to the assembly.

It has emerged the First Minister Rhodri Morgan was only told of the withdrawal late on the night before it was announced.

Among their recommendations for change, MPs have called for an upgrade of both the Great Western and north Wales mainlines.

The SRA concentrates on the south east England

BBC Wales transport correspondent Roger Pinney said: "None of this will come cheap and the rail industry as a whole is not exactly flush with cash at the moment. Passengers should not expect any quick fix solutions."

Tracks such as the north Wales coast and the Marches route have not been upgraded, leading to low line speeds.

Some services have had to be cut including routes from Swansea to the Midlands and the north, the Cardiff Waterloo service and some north Wales to London Euston services.

Clive Williams of the Rail Passengers' Committee said that the line from London was fast but gets slower the further west of Bristol you go.

He called for Wales to have devolved powers on rail services, similar to the arrangement with the Scottish Parliament.

Professor Stuart Cole, director of the Wales Transport Research Centre said track improvements to speed up services between Holyhead and Chester and Bangor and Cardiff would cost relatively little compared to the £3.5 billion being spent on reducing journey times between London and Brussels.

"For relatively small sums of money, services in Wales can be significantly improved," he said.

The SRA said they decided against the usual 12-week consulation period over the withdrawal of some Virgin Cross Country services, in an attempt to solve punctuality problems.

A spokesman said: "It was a straight choice between acting quickly and benefiting passengers or going to consultation and losing that window of opportunity."

The SRA said as for funding, it announced late last year with the new Wales rail franchise that it was providing £2 billion in subsidies over the next 15 years.