New Welsh MPs slam ‘shambles’ train services as their journeys to London are disrupted

Andrew Ranger, Claire Hughes and Henry Tufnell took to social media platform X – formerly Twitter – to complain as they travel to London.

Several newly-elected Welsh Labour MPs have criticised the reliability of train services after suffering disruption during journeys to take their seats in the Houses of Parliament.

The politicians took to social media platform X – formerly Twitter – to complain as they made their way to London ahead of the Parliament sitting on Tuesday for the first time since the General Election.

Claire Hughes, MP for Bangor Aberconwy, wrote: “In news that will shock absolutely no-one, my @AvantiWestCoast train down to London for my first day in Westminster has been cancelled.”

Andrew Ranger, who was elected to represent Wrexham, replied: “That’ll be my train too!! Well we have another thing to add to the list of things to tackle. #avantifail.”

Henry Tufnell, MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, complained that his Great Western Rail train had been delayed. Credit: PA Images

During the election campaign, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said that, if Labour won, the party would urgently consider stripping Avanti West Coast of its contract due to its “woeful service” on the West Coast Main Line.

She has pledged to bring all train services on Britain’s railways into public ownership.

Henry Tufnell, MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, who travelled to the capital on Sunday, posted: “Heading to London and excited to begin work as the MP for Mid & South Pembrokeshire.

“Unfortunately the journey involves no direct trains from #Pembrokeshire and a delayed @GWRHelp train via Gloucester. Lots of work to be done…”

Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern in the North West, said: “We are sorry to any customers disrupted by service cancellations yesterday and this morning.

“Our operational colleagues are working hard to keep journey planners up to date.

“We are very actively managing higher levels of staff sickness, and on Sundays, which rely on crews volunteering to work additional hours, we have seen a reduction in train crew making themselves available on parts of the network.

“In addition, the ongoing industrial relations issues have their own impact. We are working hard with our colleagues and other train operators to improve service reliability.”

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...