Arriva Trains Wales questioned on Wales and Borders rail franchise

• Inquiry: Wales and Borders rail franchise
• Welsh Affairs Committee
• Cymraeg

Witnesses

Thursday 15 September 2016, Senedd, Cardiff

At 2pm

• Ian Bullock, Managing Director, Arriva Trains Wales
• Roger Cobbe, Policy Director, Arriva Trains

At 2.45pm

• Elizabeth De Jong, Director of Policy, Rail Delivery Group

Purpose of session

The Committee is hearing from Arriva Trains Wales who have operated the franchise since December 2003. They will also be hearing from the Rail Delivery Group, who seek to enable the rail industry to deliver better services to their customers. The session will focus on the current performance levels of services in Wales and how the network can be improved.

Wales and Borders covers the majority of urban and inter-urban rail services in Wales and some routes to England. The current franchise contract comes to an end in October 2018 with the invitation to tender due to be issued in August 2017.

Chair's comment

Ahead of the meeting, Committee Chair David TC Davies commented:

"As we examine what sort of rail network we need to ensure communities and businesses in Wales are adequately supported, we must also understand what challenges are involved in running the network.

We will be asking Arriva Trains Wales about their current performance and public satisfaction with their services. We will also be seeking their view on what improvements can be made to the rail network, and what technical or financial barriers exist preventing this."

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

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