Rail passengers have been advised to check before travelling this week, as Cambrian Coast services are affected by train shortages and industrial action.

Transport for Wales (TfW) announced earlier this month that is has temporarily withdrawn a number of its Class 175 trains to allow additional maintenance checks to be carried out following some recent mechanical issues. 

It had been hoped these units would be back in service by last Friday, 10 March, but safety checks are still on-going and as a result disruption is likely to continue for the remainder of this week.

Disruption is likely across the Wales and Borders network, not just on those routes served by the Class 175s, as trains are moved to provide capacity where demand is highest. Customers are asked to check before they travel. This includes first and last trains and any ferry connections to ensure sufficient time is allowed.

Routes affected by the changes include the Cambrian Coast early morning Barmouth service which has been cancelled and replacement buses put in place.

Jan Chaudhry-Van der Velde, chief operations officer at TfW, said: “The safety of our customers and colleagues remains our priority and it is important that all the necessary checks and repairs have been completed on each of our Class 175 trains before being allowed back into service.

"The Class 175s are maintained on our behalf by CAF at their depot in Chester, and while we have this shortage of rolling stock, we are moving trains around the network to try and minimise the impact on the busiest routes.

“We’re very sorry for any disruption to customers’ journeys while we work to carry out the repairs as quickly as possible.”

The National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) has announced that strike action at Network Rail has been suspended. However, strike action at 14 train operating companies (not including TfW) will still go ahead as planned on 16 and 18 March. There will be some changes to TfW’s timetable as a result.

Some services are also likely to be extremely busy as a result of the severely-reduced timetable put in place by other operators.

Mr Chaudhry-Van der Velde, Chief Operations Officer at TfW, added: “Strike action at 14 Train Operating Companies will still go ahead as planned. This will include station staff who are responsible for key operational roles such as train dispatch. As a result, we’re not able to provide some services at certain times to stations managed by the affected operators.”

A number of journeys are affected. In north Wales, before 7am and after 7pm, services between there and Manchester will terminate at Chester, and services to Birmingham International will terminate at Birmingham New Street.