Wrexham to Bidston route sees rise in passenger journeys and on-time trains

A key rail route connecting Wrexham with England has seen an extra 60,000 extra passenger journeys made and a rise in the number of trains arriving on time.

New figures released by Transport for Wales (TfW) also show that between January and July this year, 197,047 journeys were made on the line.

For the same period in 2023 the figure was 138,743.

The Wrexham to Bidston route had been blighted by poor performance following the introduction of Class 230 trains.

These upcycled former London tube trains are the first battery-hybrid trains to be used in regular passenger service in Wales.

Working closely with rail user groups, TfW introduced a new timetable in December 2023, running more trains and allowing more time to turn them around.

The line now uses a combination of Class 230 and Class 197 trains.

July 2024 saw 27,936 journeys on the route, the highest monthly figure since TfW took over operations in 2018.

In terms of punctuality, just 48.4% of trains arrived within three minutes of schedule in July 2023, but by this July, that figure had increased to 87.7%.

Jeremy Williams, who was appointed as a dedicated rail route officer for the line last year to help improve performance said customers were “finally getting the service they deserved”.

He said: “Last year things simply weren’t good enough. So we put a real focus on the line looking at our timetable, the trains we were using on the line, some of the fleet issues and various other factors.

“We worked closely with rail user groups to understand the needs of customers too.

“The new timetable in December 2023 meant we were running more trains on the line but were also creating more time to turn the trains around.

“It’s drastically improved performance and I think customers are finally getting the service they deserve, with the numbers traveling reflecting that.”

Cabinet Secretary for Transport & North Wales, Ken Skates added: “I am delighted that after all the hard work passengers are now beginning to see a significant improvement to this important service.”