Passengers on Transport for Wales’ flagship route will be able to travel in traditional InterCity comfort from next year, with a buffet car and first-class seating available.
Since the 1980s, the route from Cardiff to Manchester along the Welsh Marches has been operated with short diesel units of two or three coaches each.
But TfW has now bought 30 “Mark 4” coaches which were used until recently on the East Coast Main Line, between London King’s Cross, Leeds and Edinburgh.
They will be formed into four sets of five coaches each, for use on services between Swansea and Manchester Piccadilly via Cardiff Central and Abergavenny.
Each train will have a separate diesel locomotive. The coaches will roll smoothly along the tracks, without the noise and vibrations from the underfloor diesel engines of TfW’s usual trains.
The Mark 4 trains will include a buffet car where passengers can enjoy a meal or snack. One coach in each train will be entirely first-class.
The coaches were bought with Welsh Government funding.
They will provide better comfort than TfW’s diesel units and, arguably, the new Great Western Railway trains on services between Swansea and London. The new GWR trains have been criticised by many passengers for the hardness of their seats.
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TfW has ordered the same type of seat for its new long-distance diesel units, which are due to enter passenger service on many Wales and Borders routes next year and in 2023. They will operate many services on the Swansea to Manchester route, but passengers who have the flexibility to choose their travel times will be able to pick services which feature Mark 4 coaches.
TfW’s first Mark 4 trains have been pressed into service today on the Cardiff to Holyhead route, which also uses the Marches line between Newport and Shrewsbury. Initially they will have four coaches each, but TfW plans to extend them to five coaches so that the Manchester and Holyhead routes have uniform trains.
One drawback of the introduction of Mark 4 trains on the Manchester route is the loss of hourly services between Manchester and Carmarthen, continuing to Milford Haven on alternate hours. The services’ launch in 2005 improved connectivity between west Wales and Cardiff, among other places.
Manchester services operated by diesel units may continue to run west of Swansea, and TfW is considering whether west Wales can have through trains to a more diverse range of destinations.
“Details are still being worked out,” said a TfW spokesman. “The Welsh Government has aspirations to operate more services between west and south Wales, including direct services between Milford Haven and Bristol Temple Meads, and more direct services between west Wales and London. We’re working closely with them to see how this can be delivered.”
TfW chief executive James Price said: “The Swansea-Manchester route is one of our most popular, providing key links between the cities of south Wales and north-west England. By introducing these high-quality trains, we’re recognising its importance as an InterCity route and providing a more attractive alternative to travelling by car.
“The investment in high-quality trains demonstrates we’re going above and beyond our original commitment to transform the Wales and Borders rail service and deliver a world-class service for our customers throughout our network, including on the Heart of Wales and west Wales where we’re upgrading our original plans.”
TfW’s original plans, unveiled in 2018, envisaged that the Heart of Wales line – Swansea to Shrewsbury via Llandrindod – and many services in west Wales would be operated with Turbostar trains, currently on the Ebbw Vale and Maesteg lines. However, those trains will move back to England, and TfW expects to use its new diesel units on most services in the west.