THE DECISION to cancel yet more trains over bank holiday weekend has been described as “baffling” by a concerned town councillor.

Train services in Meirionnydd and Dwyfor have been blighted, with frequent cancellations and bus replacements affecting railway passengers throughout 2018.

On previous occasions, Arriva Trains Wales has blamed a shortage of staff and/or trains as the cause of problems.

This bank holiday was no exception as several trains along the Cambrian Coast line were replaced by buses due to “train crew shortages”.

Arriva Trains Wales has apologised to customers and has announced it is currently on a recruitment drive in the area to try and prevent further cancellations.

Porthmadog town councillor Jason Humphreys had heard from several passengers about the poor service provided over the busy bank holiday weekend.

“I’ve heard some complaints from people over this bank holiday weekend that Arriva have been laying on buses instead of trains along the Cambrian Coast line,” he told the Cambrian News.

“Actually, it seems to me that this happens often during bank holidays. For an area that depends heavily on tourism, it’s really quite baffling.

“I understand that Arriva has recently been advertising crew and guards jobs at Pwllheli, paying up to £32,000 per annum.

“As this is an absolute fortune for this part of the world, I for one expect to see this matter resolved.

“I also hope it will also mean more Arriva employees on the trains speaking Welsh.”

Regarding the complaints, Arriva Trains Wales customer services director Bethan Jelfs said: “A number of services on the Cambrian coast were run as replacement bus services this bank holiday.

“This is the result of a combination of annual leave and sickness leaving us with some temporary train crew shortages.

“We would like to apologise to all customers affected and to assure them we are doing all we can to rectify this situation including recruiting for additional train crew on the Cambrian line.”

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