I have had the 'pleasure' to travel Arriva Wales frequently. My boyfriend is studying at Aberystwyth University so I find myself changing at Birmingham for an Aber train.
About Arriva: They have 116 trains covering a network of over 1009 miles, with 1860 employees. Apparently they run 788 ... Read review
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Advantages: Gets you from A to B...eventually. Friendly staff Disadvantages: Slow, overcrowding, punctuality, horrible toilets
...had the 'pleasure' to travel Arriva Wales frequently. My boyfriend is studying at Aberystwyth University so I find myself changing at Birmingham for an Aber train.
About Arriva: They have 116 trains covering a network of over 1009 miles, with 1860 employees. Apparently they run 788 services a day during the week but there are no figures for how many of these services actually run, many are cancelled every day! According to their website, ... ...a train every 2 hours, Arriva said they were looking into more frequent services. I'd advise you to check carefully when travelling on Sundays and Bank Holidays as they often do enginnering works then. This journey takes around 2 hours 20 minutes on a good day. Do not expect to be there on time though.
Where else do the trains go? Throughout South Wales, North Wales, up to Manchester via several routes. The area around Shrewsbury/Welsh ... more
I have had the 'pleasure' to travel Arriva Wales frequently. My boyfriend is studying at Aberystwyth University so I find myself changing at Birmingham for an Aber train.
About Arriva: They have 116 trains covering a network of over 1009 miles, with 1860 employees. Apparently they run 788 services a day during the week but there are no figures for how many of these services actually run, many are cancelled every day! According to their website, the route I take has an average 82.5% punctuality…
Buying tickets: Online via the website, on the trainline.com, nationalrail.co.uk, on the phone or at a station. If you get on at an unstaffed station, common in rural wales, you may buy a ticket on the train from an employee. In my experience Tickets are hardly ever checked though and there are no ticket gates at Aber. This is no excuse to not buy a ticket however! As with every train company in the UK prices are not exactly cheap but travelling off peak and having a Young Persons railcard helps with the cost.
My route: The route I travel goes Birmingham, Woverhampton, Telford, Wellington, Shrewsbury, Welshpool, Aberystwyth. And vice versa. It also stops at smaller stations along the way. Much of the journey is lovely and scenic. There is a train every 2 hours, Arriva said they were looking into more frequent services. I'd advise you to check carefully when travelling on Sundays and Bank Holidays as they often do enginnering works then. This journey takes around 2 hours 20 minutes on a good day. Do not expect to be there on time though.
Where else do the trains go? Throughout South Wales, North Wales, up to Manchester via several routes. The area around Shrewsbury/Welsh Boarders are covered quite well.
Punctuality: This is this main problem. Most of my journeys go wrong due to lateness of the trains. Due to running lateness and the fact there are only 2 (I think) trains on this route, many trains are cancelled at Birmingham to try and make up the time. So you have to catch a train from Birmingham to Wolverhampton instead. It's a 20 minute journey but it is a pain! I'd advise travelling to Wolverhampton to start with. My last journey was surprisingly perfect though. The train started in Birmingham and got to Aber 3 minutes late. This was little short of a miracle and is far from the norm. I would say that the best way to solve this would be to put on more trains.
The Trains: The trains on this route are 2 carriages. I have no idea why Arriva doesn't put on bigger trains as over crowding is very common, especially due to the fact that Aber is a university town. I believe there are about 50 seats per carriage. This leads to many people standing down the aisle. The seats themselves are fine with arm rests that you can move and the trains are normally quite clean on boarding. Arriva should look at investing more money into bigger trains and a refurbishment would make the journey more comfortable.
The Toilet: There is one toilet on these trains. I used it once and never again as the floor is always soaking and it smells rather strange. Sometimes the train stops at Shrewsbury for 10 minutes so I'd recommend using the restrooms here if you get a chance.
At seat catering: If the train is not too crowded there will be a trolley service with light refreshments. It serves a wide variety of food and beverages which are rather expensive. A cup of coffee is £1.35, Pringles are £1.20. A selection of sandwiches, starts at £2.35. A vodka and coke cost me £4.50! I'd recommend heading to an M&S foodhall before your journey! I often find the best solution to an often tiresome journey is to have a drink or two. It might make your Arriva experience slightly better!
The staff: They are known as Train Catering Employees. I'd expected them to be grumpy and miserable but they are always very pleasant and friendly. They can be identified by the green uniforms. They always have time to talk to each passenger and seem like they're enjoying their jobs. It must be hard work and I'd personally hate to be in contact with rude/demanding passengers but they always have a smile on their face. Arriva has got one thing right at least.
Arriva will always get you to your destination eventually…it make take a while though. I have recommended Arriva to potential buyers because if you don't drive and don't want to take a bus, it's always useful to have a train service. So despite my moanings, it is better than nothing!
Advantages: Friendly staff, Good value for money and reliable trains. Disadvantages: There need to be more staff at all stations for longer hours.
HOW EASY IS IT TO BUY A TICKET?
Well, it really depends where you are when you want to buy a ticket. For instance, I travel regularly between Aberdare in South Wales and Cardiff Central. If I needed to buy a ticket from Aberdare, then i would really have no chance. Theres no ticket machine, yes, there is a ticket window, but thats never ever open, maybe perhaps for only a few hours a day during the peak for the commuters. Your only other chance ... ...the guards, or failing this, buy a ticket at your destination. If i was to try and buy a ticket at one of the larger stations, such as Cardiff Central, then there would be no problem, they have plenty of machines and plenty of ticket windows which are open for the majority of the time. So you have no excuse for not buying a ticket there or any of the other main stations.
FREQUENCY OF TRAINS
The frequency of the trains is pretty good, you never ...
smcclt3006 09.08.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Arriva Trains Wales
Advantages: You eventually get to your destination. Disadvantages: Over crowding, often late, difficult staff.
...a VERY bad experience with Arriva trains Wales, so I am sorry if this review sounds a little "ranting". I will try and deliver a fair and balanced review of their services.
Firstly a little information about Arriva trains Wales. Arriva trains Wales took control of the franchise previously operated by Wales & Borders Trains on 7 December 2003. They have a fleet of aprox. 116 trains. Their route covers over 2,600 miles and they employ 1,860 members ... ...You can register with Arriva train Wales online and receive offers, competitions and news via email/text. You can opt to have the email in either plain text or HTML. The website also contains the following pages: Home, About Us, Travelling With Us, Helping You, Out & About, News & Service Changes, Buffer Zone and Contact Us. There is a lot of information and the site is easy to use and well planned. If only the whole Arriva service was as good as ...
donnabroom 17.07.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Arriva Trains Wales
Advantages: The scenary is nice, if you can see out of the high windows Disadvantages: Slow, old, unreliable trains
...It's about time that Arriva Trains Wales started investing some money back into their own lines and improved the reliability and quality of their trains. The Heart of Wales Line boasts that it is idyllic and romantic, yet it is hard to enjoy travelling on such a route when the seats are unconfortable, the windows too high to see out of, and the trains running behind time. Pull your act together Arriva! ...
stapleton1 08.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Arriva Trains Wales
Advantages: It eventually get's you to where you want to be Disadvantages: Its like a cattle truck
As a regular user of Arriva Trains Wales in particular their route from Manchester Oxford Road to Llandudno which I have the "pleasure" of using on a daily basis, unfortunately at peak times throughout the working week. I can honestly say that if you like being herded into a cattle truck then please feel free to use the service.
On a regular, and by regular I mean daily basis I have the dubious pleasure of catching the Arriva Trains Wales service ... ...later which means, according to Arriva Trains Wales that as you are not delayed for over 60 minutes they are not liable for any compensation.
I know I'm harping on about this particular service but to be honest if you had to stand on a platform for a train which is regularly "delayed" and the "bing bong" woman daily informing me that "We are sorry but the xx train to Llandudno is delayed by 6 minutes, Arriva Trains Wales apologise for the inconvenience ...
dragz 17.11.2005 (29.11.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Arriva Trains Wales
Frequency of trains
Reliability of trains
Comfort of trains
On-board facilities
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Advantages: Mostly on time Disadvantages: Dirty trains, very basic.
I travel on Central Trains very regularly, as they share my local line between Telford Central and Wolverhampton with ArrivaTrainsWales. Luckily the journeys I have on them are quite short, because some of the trains are quite dinghy.
Well, I say that, it's about half and half. They all have a peculiar smell, but some are so dirty and litter ridden it's hard to find anywhere appealing to sit down. Some of them are actually OK, bright and satisfactory. There's sometimes the odd paper lying on the tables. :P
If you're lucky, you'll get a nice new train with bigger, better toilets and a more spacious layout. I've only recently started to see these and they are a great improvement. :)
I say they're OK for short journeys. It's true...I know some of them run from Aberystwyth to Birmingham New Street, and even some to Norwich. I ...
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Advantages: Cheap to buy and you save a lot! Disadvantages: min fare applies b4 10am
and expiry date. Payment can be made by debit or credit card. I presume all debit cards, but I have in the past had problems with Visa Electron. You will be sent card through the post within about 14 days.
Relevant Train company numbers
ArrivaTrainsWales 08709 000773
C2C 08457 44 44 22
Central Trains 0870 609 60 60
Chiltern Railways 08456 005 165
First Great Western 08457 000 125
GNER 08457 225 225
Hull Trains 01482 606 388
Midland Mainline 08457 125 678
Northern Rail 08457 000 125
One 08700 40 90 90
Scot Rail 08457 55 00 33
Silverlink 08705 125 240
South West Trains 08456 000 650
Virgin Trains 08457 222 333
West Anglia Great Northern 0870 850 8822
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My opinion
Well is it worth it? I think it is without a doubt. Although I will be having ...
Advantages: Frequent services. very comfortable, excellent trains, great provisions, excellent customer service Disadvantages: Sometimes late.
Trains are the best there. I don't know about London Rail Companies, but the competition up here is Central Trains, ArrivaTrainsWales and the like. Doesn't say much for Virgin, that they're the best, but honestly, compared to them, Virgin is luxury for me.
I generally travel with big bags, but not suitcases. There isn't a lot of storage space for large suitcases, but for bags, you can store them on your feet if your not fussy, or there's the overhead areas. It can be crowded, especially if it's a busy Friday afternoon and you're travelling for an hour and a half (longer if you're doing Devon/Cornwall), but imagine doing it on Central Trains. Har Har.
Staff are really friendly and can often be humorous. Before reaching a station, and after departing from one, the Train Manager and/or the Retail Manager will go on the tannoy and keep you ...
Trixie_Firecracker 03.05.2005
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