Rail passengers have criticised Transport for Wales after their service between Cardiff and Carmarthen saw hundreds of people try to pile into a single carriage. Some were left to find alternative ways home after the 11.15pm Carmarthen service on Wednesday night (July 20) arrived at Cardiff made up of just one train carriage, with people describing the minimal service as "disgusting".
It had been a busy night in the capital, with thousands of students from Cardiff University and their families descending on the city for their graduation ceremonies. At the same time, Michael Bublé was performing at Cardiff Castle while HAIM were playing at the Motorpoint Arena.
These events left hundreds of people trying to make their way out of the city later in the night. However, those travelling to Swansea or even further onto Carmarthen were left frustrated when they discovered that only a single carriage had been provided for the late-night service, only for the next train at 11.51pm to be cancelled completely.
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Transport for Wales have said the lack of carriages on the service was due to "short-notice resource issues," while the 11.51pm train was cancelled due to a person being hit by a train near Slough. They added that this cancellation had made the 11.15pm service "far busier than expected" despite having bolstered their services ahead of this week's events, with more graduation ceremonies to follow on Thursday and Friday night.
Passengers desperate to get home also claim the service was subject to a last-minute platform change, with what they alleged were "near riots" happening at the station. Many took to social media to vent their frustrations, with some labelling the experience "disgusting".
"This is shocking @tfwrail," said one, sharing a photo of the crowded platform and single carriage. "The 23:15 service to Carmarthen when there is large events going on in Cardiff. Absolutely disgusting. Even with the 23:51 train cancelled." Another passenger wrote: "Crackin' service from @tfwrail. Gigs at several major venues in Wales plus graduations in the city. One carriage to Carmarthen. Near riots on the platform. Taxis taking the p*** and charging £50 to Pontyclun."
Another added: "Gig on in Cardiff, a train with one carriage going to Swansea after it finishes. Well done @tfwrail," while a third wrote: "Well nice to see @tfwrail living up to expectations and completely messing up trains from Cardiff tonight. With graduations and concerts in town, why wouldn't you have single carriage trains running? Idiots."
Meanwhile, another passenger tagged Transport for Wales' Twitter account and wrote: "Just changed platform at the last minute from 4a to 7 for the Carmarthen service. Watched the elderly change platforms to be told that’s there is only ONE carriage for easily 500+ people. Disgusting how you treat your passengers."
A spokesperson for Transport for Wales said: “We have planned for a number of events taking place in Cardiff this week, including strengthening services where possible and providing additional road transport to supplement rail services. On Wednesday evening this included the use of three buses to transport passengers from Cardiff to Swansea (via Pencoed), Cardiff to Carmarthen (including all stations after Port Talbot) and Cardiff to Port Talbot.
“Unfortunately, due to short-notice resource issues we were only able to operate a single carriage for the 23:15 Cardiff Central to Carmarthen service. This service was far busier than expected due to the unforeseen cancellation of the 23:51 Great Western Railway service to Swansea following a fatality on the line.
"We are confident there is sufficient capacity across the network to manage the anticipated numbers of passengers travelling to and from events taking place on Thursday and Friday.”
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