A pensioner has hit out at Transport for Wales over a train journey which he likened to being on a “cattle truck”. Robert Rhodes contacted WalesOnline to share his experience after reading our report about the operator cancelling 654 trains to Swansea and west Wales in just a year.
The 79-year-old took TfW to the Rail Ombudsman over the “trauma” he and his wife endured on May 24 last year as they returned home to Swansea from a holiday in Liverpool. The couple had chosen to travel off-peak in the hope of avoiding overcrowding as Mr Rhodes was recovering from bowel cancer surgery and heart bypass surgery.
He said: “On our homeward journey from Liverpool Lime Street Station we boarded an Avanti West Coast train at 2.43pm which took us to Crewe where we would be boarding another train for the remainder of the journey to Swansea. That first section of the journey was superb. A quiet, comfortable, clean and luxurious train with clear, concise information from the Tannoy system.
“What a difference when we boarded the 4.10pm Transport for Wales cattle truck from Crewe to Swansea. This was the Manchester Piccadilly to Carmarthen service made up of just two carriages which was absolutely ridiculous for a Friday afternoon just before a bank holiday weekend. According to a passenger we spoke to, who was travelling from Manchester to Hereford, this two-coach overcrowded situation is a regular occurrence and has been complained about many times.
“The train was barely standing room only and when my wife and I, pensioners with health issues, boarded the train we were separated in the rush for seats. She managed to get offered a seat by a young lady while I had to stand near the toilet for most of the journey. It is not possible to reserve seats on this service. The train was dangerously overcrowded with passengers seated on the floor making it impossible to reach my wife for food, water, and my medication.
The overcrowded carriage on the Manchester Piccadilly to Carmarthen service
(Image: Robert Rhodes)
“There was no buffet trolley. To make matters worse the toilets were out of order and the Tannoy was also out of order so we were unable to receive updated messages of the situation from the ticket inspector who incidentally was conspicuous by his absence –perhaps totally embarrassed and bewildered with the situation. A rail employee who boarded the train at Hereford eventually pushed his way through the bodies informing us as he passed by that this problematic train was being taken out of service. We would have to change to another service at Cardiff Central – and what a shambles that was also.”
Mr Rhodes said the train had already been halted for around half an hour at Hereford and that this was followed by a delay of around 25 minutes at Cardiff while passengers switched to a replacement train in what he described as a “crush”. He went on: “Eventually we left Cardiff Central and shortly afterwards travelled past the rail sidings depot at Canton. We noted the large number of trains parked up at the depot with barely any room for more. Surely all these trains weren’t awaiting repair or cleaning? Knowing the historical overcrowding record on the journey surely planners should have coupled up one of these units to the train at the commencement of service that day?”
The delays resulted in the couple missing their bus connection at Swansea and resorting to a £12 taxi ride home from the city centre. Mr Rhodes said: “After many weeks of emails Transport for Wales reluctantly awarded us £30 in rail travel vouchers with a 12-month expiry date. This was purely to compensate us for the train delays. I explained that we were unlikely to use them within the timescale as our immediate holiday commitments had already been planned. TfW were totally unforgiving and stood by their offer which was final and non-negotiable.
“Unhappy at the outcome I decided to approach the Rail Ombudsman to try and get what we thought would be a fairer increase in compensation. The Rail Ombudsman was totally ineffective. Apparently, even with a service with no seat booking available, passengers are not entitled a guarantee of a seat even if you are sick, disabled, or elderly. After a long, protracted argument the ombudsman found in favour of Transport for Wales who were not required to provide any documentation detailing the events that occurred on the journey.”
Marie Daly, chief customer and culture officer at TfW, said: “We would like to apologise to Mr and Mrs Rhodes for their poor experience on our service in May last year, which we acknowledge was well below the standard we want to deliver for our passengers. As a gesture of goodwill we have given Mr Rhodes rail travel vouchers in addition to any refund he will be entitled to under Delay Repay should a service arrive at its destination more than 15 minutes late.
“Since this incident last spring we have added capacity across the network, including on key routes from south Wales to the north-west of England, as more of our £800m fleet of new trains have come into service. We will continue to add further capacity over the coming months as more of our new trains are introduced on the Wales and Borders network.”
The Rail Ombudsman was approached for comment. You can read more of our readers’ thoughts on the standard of travel offered by TfW here.
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