Rail passengers are being urged to check their journeys as safety checks are carried out on some Transport for Wales trains after a number of reported fires. There is a warning of reduced services on a number of routes as a result.
Services between Cardiff Central and Treherbert, between Carmarthen and Milford Haven, between Carmarthen and Fishguard Harbour and between Wolverhampton and Birmingham International have all been affected due to a shortage of train carriages.
Transport for Wales' chief operations manager Jan Chaudhry van der Velde said "safety was the number one priority". There have been reports of fires on some of the trains and safety checks are being carried out as a result.
In a recorded statement he said: "We have to take some of our Class 175 trains out of service while we run some enhanced maintenance routines on them for safety reasons. This is going to leave us a little bit short of rolling stock for a few days while we put all the trains through enhanced service, but as the trains go through the programme they will return to passenger service.
"The rolling stock situation will gradually get better over the next few days. We are asking passengers to bear with us and to check to make sure your train is running as normal."
The Class 175 trains form the backbone of TfW’s express services, operating across the Wales and Borders network through south, north and west Wales and the Borders.
Refurbishing work the fleet of long-distance trains was completed at the start of last year. Buses will replace cancelled trains in Wales and passengers with tickets can any other operator between Wolverhampton and Birmingham International to complete the journey.
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