Arriva Trains Wales

**Arriva Trains Wales** (Welsh: *Trenau Arriva Cymru*) (ATW) was a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operates the Wales & Borders franchise. It ran urban and inter-urban passenger services to all railway stations in Wales, including Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street, Newport, Swansea, Wrexham General and Holyhead, as well as to certain stations in England such as Hereford, Shrewsbury, Chester, Manchester Piccadilly, and Birmingham New Street.

The company began operating in December 2003, taking over from Wales and Borders. Following the introduction of the Railways Act 2005 and Transport (Wales) Act 2006, responsibility for the franchise has been held by the devolved Welsh Government. Arriva Trains Wales' franchise is due to expire in October 2018, and the company has confirmed it will not bid to renew. It will be succeeded by KeolisAmey Wales.

## History

In March 2000 the UK government announced plans to create a separate Wales & Borders franchise. In October 2001 the two National Express operated franchises, Valley Lines and Wales & West, were reorganised, with Wales & Borders taking responsibility for most services in Wales as shown on its map. The services from Birmingham New Street to Chester, Aberystwyth, and Pwllheli operated by Central Trains were also transferred.

On 1 August 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority awarded Arriva the new franchise. The new franchise was for fifteen years, with performance reviews every five years; Arriva Trains Wales took over the services operated by Wales & Borders on 7 December 2003. The next five-yearly review period concluded on 31 March 2013.

On 28 September 2003 the services from Birmingham New Street, Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly to Llandudno and Holyhead as well as those between Bidston and Wrexham Central and between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog, operated by First North Western, were transferred to the new Wales & Borders franchise.

## Description

Responsibility for the franchise was later devolved to the Welsh Government as a result of the Railways Act 2005 and the Transport (Wales) Act 2006, and it works closely with Arriva Trains Wales to develop the railway network within Wales. This has included the introduction of direct services between North and South Wales, and the reintroduction of passenger services on previously freight-only portions of the Vale of Glamorgan Line and Ebbw Vale Line.

ATW operates over a route length of 1691 km, with 253 DMU cars and 22 locomotive-hauled passenger carriages.

Its busiest Welsh stations are Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street and Newport in South Wales, and Bangor (Gwynedd) and Wrexham General in North Wales.

ATW operates almost all services in Wales, with the exception of:

* Pembroke Dock/Carmarthen/Swansea/Cardiff Central to London Paddington (Great Western Railway)
* Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour or Taunton (Great Western Railway)
* Cardiff Central to Nottingham or Manchester Piccadilly (CrossCountry)
* Holyhead/Bangor/Wrexham General to London Euston (Virgin Trains West Coast)

## Performance

In October 2006, ATW was ranked seventh best (out of 21 companies) with an above average 89.9% of trains 'on time' according to Network Rail statistics. The latest figures released by NR (Network Rail) rate punctuality (Public Performance Measure) at 96.1% for period 7 of the 2013/14 financial year.

## Welsh-laguage services

The Welsh Language Act 1993 requires all public bodies to provide services to the public through the medium of Welsh as well as English. As a private company and not a public body, Arriva is not legally required to provide service in Welsh, but it does conduct some business in Welsh. All stations in Wales where the Welsh and English names differ have both names displayed, with a few minor omissions. ATW does not display Welsh names in the English stations which it manages, such as Chester (Welsh: *Caer*) or Hereford (Welsh: *Henffordd*), but includes the Welsh names in its printed timetables and other publicity material. There are bilingual signs at Hereford, for example, warning against trespassing on the railway.

Arriva Trains Wales has introduced bilingual display screens and announcements in at least 46 stations.

## Services

A summary of ATW services is shown below (most stations with only a limited service are not shown):

* Route 1 are express/stopping services between the Midlands and North/Mid Wales.
* Route 2 are mainline long-distance services between South Wales and North Wales/Birkenhead/Manchester.
* Route 3 are express/stopping services along the South Wales Coast Line to Cardiff and Swansea.
* Route 4 are express/stopping services along the North Wales Coast Line to Crewe and Manchester.
* Route 5 is a network of commuter lines operating in and around Cardiff.

## Stations served

### Major stations in Wales

* Cardiff Queen Street
* Newport
* Bridgend
* Port Talbot Parkway
* Wrexham General
* Aberystwyth
* Colwyn Bay
* Rhyl
* Flint
* Shotton
* Bangor (Gwynedd)
* Llandudno Junction
* Llandudno
* Maesteg
* Swansea

### Stations in England

#### Managed by Arriva Trains Wales

* Bucknell
* Chester
* Church Stretton
* Craven Arms
* Frodsham
* Helsby
* Heswall
* Hereford
* Hopton Heath
* Leominster
* Ludlow
* Nantwich
* Neston
* Prees
* Runcorn East
* Upton
* Wem
* Whitchurch
* Wrenbury
* Yorton

#### Managed by other companies

* Birmingham International (Virgin Trains)
* Birmingham New Street (Network Rail)
* Crewe (Virgin Trains)
* Cheltenham Spa (Great Western Railway)
* Earlestown (Northern)
* East Didsbury (Northern)
* Gloucester (Great Western Railway)
* Newton-le-Willows (Northern)
* Manchester Airport (TransPennine Express)
* Manchester Oxford Road (Northern)
* Liverpool Lime Street (Network Rail)
* Liverpool South Parkway (Network Rail)
* Runcorn (Virgin Trains)
* Stockport (Virgin Trains)
* Telford Central (West Midlands Railway)
* Warrington Bank Quay (Virgin Trains)
* Wilmslow (Northern)
* Wolverhampton (Virgin Trains)

## Depots

Arriva Trains Wales' fleet is stabled at three depots.

* Chester (Alstom): Class 175
* Cardiff Canton: Class 142, Class 143, Class 150, Class 153 and Mark 3 stock.
* Machynlleth: Class 158.

## Future franchise

The Invitation to Tender for the next franchise was issued in September 2017 and the contract will be awarded in June 2018, the new franchise starting in October 2018. In October 2016, Abellio, Arriva, Keolis/Amey and MTR Corporation were shortlisted to bid. Arriva withdrew from the tendering process in October 2017. Abellio followed in February 2018 after its partner Carillion entered liquidation in January.

On 23 May, it was announced that Keolis Amey would run the next Wales & Borders franchise for 15 years after Arriva Trains Wales' franchise expired. The company runs under the name Transport for Wales.

## External links

Template:Arriva Group UK