A Plaid Cymru Senedd Member has highlighted a sharp increase in the number of train cancellations on a key commuter line in his region.

Peredur Owen Griffiths – who is the Plaid Cymru spokesperson for Transport – said the jump in train cancellations on the Ebbw Vale line was “alarming” and called on the Labour Cabinet Secretary to address the issue urgently.

The Senedd Member for South Wales Central was speaking after he uncovered figures for train cancellations over the previous six years.

The data shows that in the financial year of 2024/25 (to date) 4.5% of train services have been cancelled. By way of comparison, 2.9% of services on the Ebbw Vale line were cancelled in 2023/24.

If you compare the most recent figures to the number of cancellations in 2020/21 when 0.8% of services were cancelled, the difference is starker.

Peredur said: “I was asked to look into the performance of the Ebbw Vale line by a constituent following a recent street surgery in the Rogerstone area.

“This constituent expressed his frustration with the reliability of the service as his son relies on it to get to and from work in Cardiff and has often been let down.

“It is clear from the figures that there have been an unacceptable number of cancellations on the line in recent times. On a line like the Ebbw Vale line – which is not as frequent as other areas – a cancelled service can very well mean the difference between being late for work or on time.

“Despite a large injection of cash for the trains in Wales, there has been an alarming deterioration in performance on this key passenger line in my region. 

“For the sake of people in Gwent who rely on this service, the Labour Cabinet Secretary must get a grip of the situation and improve the reliability of the service.

“If the Government is serious about encouraging people to use public transport, they must provide a service that can be relied upon.”

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