Madam,

I was very interested to read a letter about a terrible train journey on 17 August, published in the Cambrian News.

On 16 August, we too had a pretty awful “service” on this line. I was travelling with my daughter and granddaughter on a day trip to Chester. We waited at Borth for the 8.30am from Aberystwyth, but they had cancelled it.

Starting off again, an hour later, there was then no through train from Shrewsbury, and we had to change again at Crewe. Overall we were around two hours late arriving in Chester and so had to sort out a later returning time to compensate for this.

Unfortunately there were problems with this, too. All sorts of last-minute platform alterations were rolling off the departures board at Chester and there were people rushing about hither and thither. Passengers had to get off our “replacement” train for Cardiff, and had clearly not been expecting to change there.

Arriving eventually at Shrewsbury we made a very quick exit and scurried across to the usual Aberystywth platform, as we envisaged a further two-hour wait coming up any minute. But we were directed back to the train we had just left!

All the passengers who were going to Cardiff were turfed off that one, presumably to seek another elsewhere. Even then our journey to Borth took longer than usual because of unscheduled stops to allow trains heading east, and also running late, to pass ours.

I would agree with Mr Lucas that the service is definitely getting worse. I rarely use the line, being a bus “buff” myself, but had found it much improved over recent years, when travelling to transport-related meetings in Shrewsbury or Cardiff. But the whole operation seemed in meltdown on that Tuesday.

“There is no reserve” - that sounds to me a totally familiar Arriva situation!

Yours etc,

Joyce Porter, Talybont.

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