Huw Irranca-Davies AM: Further to my recent request for a
statement on rip-off prices for through train tickets via Bridgend,
can I repeat that call? I had an interesting Twitter exchange
yesterday between me, my constituent and, fair play, a very engaged
Transport for Wales Twitter account operator, and it revealed that
(a) the same ticket from Maesteg to London, compared to Bridgend to
London is £31 more expensive, when a...Request free trial
AM: Further to my recent request for a
statement on rip-off prices for through train tickets via
Bridgend, can I repeat that call? I had an interesting
Twitter exchange yesterday between me, my constituent and,
fair play, a very engaged Transport for Wales Twitter
account operator, and it revealed that (a) the same ticket
from Maesteg to London, compared to Bridgend to London is
£31 more expensive, when a ticket from Maesteg to Bridgend
is £2.60; secondly, that disparity didn't exist, my
constituent insists, prior to TfW, although TfW refute
this; but thirdly, TfW say that this is Great Western Railway pricing
policy over which they have no say whatsoever. Now, that's
fascinating, because we are only two or three stops up the
line for a £31 difference. So, could we please have a
statement from the Minister that clarifies the
responsibilities of TfW and GWR on through ticket pricing
through Bridgend, and whether it's acceptable that
passengers on the Llynfi valley line are, due to their
auspicious ostentatious wealth, their yachts and
second-home apartments in downtown Manhattan, expected to
pay for the privilege of subsidising poor inter-city
travellers from Bath or Bristol or even Bridgend in their
wealthy mansions down there?
(Minister for
Finance and
Trefnydd): Thank you very
much. On the issue of train ticket pricing, I know that
the Minister for Economy and Transport will write to
you shortly on this matter, but it is a historical
issue that goes back to the point of rail privatisation
in 1998, and journey flows allocated to rail
franchisees were allotted to the primary operator,
which is normally either the operator whose services
are direct over the specified route or the operator
whose service operates over the greater part of that
route, which is why, in some cases, it will be GWR and,
in others, it will be Transport for Wales. So, the
issue is highly complex and I'll certainly make sure
that you do get a full response to that query...
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