Longer trains set for popular commuter route

A rail operator is introducing new trains on a popular commuter route in a bid to reduce overcrowding on services.

New trains with more than two carriages, are expected to be added to line between Shrewsbury and Birmingham in the spring, Transport for Wales (TfW) said.

The increase was confirmed after the MP for Shrewsbury, Labour's Julia Buckley, told TfW bosses the service was unable to support the area's demand.

"It should be three carriages and we're only getting two. There's more people who need to get from Shrewsbury to Birmingham, or Wolverhampton every day and that is the service that is letting us down", she said.

"Top-end businesses are telling me they want to expand, invest and employ more people, but this is impossible until we get better services".

The trains will be introduced on the Cambrian line, which runs between the Midlands and the Welsh coast, as part of an £800m investment to transform rail services.

A spokesperson for TfW said: "Every effort is being made to get them into service to alleviate some of the crowding problems customers are seeing."

Buckley also called for services to be made more reliable.

"The amount of cancelled trains there are is not okay. The potential and demand is there, we just need the services", she said.

TfW said it had been "a challenging time on the line" and thanked customers for their patience.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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