MS calls for urgent improvements to railway resilience
A Senedd member is calling for urgent improvements to railway resilience.
Monmouth MS Peter Fox has written to the Welsh Government to raise concerns about recent disruption on the Welsh Marches Line, which runs through Monmouthshire and connects Manchester and North Wales with Cardiff.
Recent incidents have caused widespread delays and cancellations, including a collapsed culvert north of Hereford and structural problems with a bridge outside Cardiff Central.
Mr Fox said: "Our railways are crucial to commuters and tourists across Wales.
"I have two major stations in my constituency, in Abergavenny and Chepstow, which for a lot of people are their only way of commuting.
"We have seen a lot of bad news around recent incidents on the Welsh Marches Line, and whilst these examples were not necessarily preventable, the knock-on effect is something that needs to be addressed.
"Passengers were held up for hours, if not days by these problems, impacting on the whole network and affecting others across Wales.
"I have written to the Welsh Government to ask for action to improve our resilience, to ensure that when incidents happen, passengers impact is minimalised."
In his letter to the cabinet secretary for transport and north Wales, Mr Fox argued that while such incidents may not always be avoidable, the line currently lacks the resilience needed to cope with disruptions.
He warned that any issues along the route have a 'dramatic effect' on the wider Welsh rail network, and called for steps to ensure essential services remain running when incidents occur.
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