Fast train to London was quicker in 1909! (From Western Telegraph)

Fast train to London was quicker in 1909!

TRAIN JOURNEYS from London to Pembrokeshire could in future take up to eight hours, following a decision by First Great Western to scrap its direct service from Paddington to Fishguard.

Passengers will now have to change trains at Cardiff or wait for a connection at Llanelli. The first option would take five-and-a-half hours and the second eight hours.

Rail buffs have pointed out that the run only took four hours and 28 minutes when the line opened in 1909 and the method of transport was steam.

First Great Western said it could no longer afford to allocate a 480-seat, high speed train to a line that attracted too few passengers.

And there is nothing the Government can do to stop it, because it has a legal entitlement to cut back services.

Preseli MP Jackie Lawrence, who uses the service to travel between Westminster and her Pembrokeshire constituency, is concerned that it is the beginning of the end for rail services west of Swansea.

First Great Western trains were not obliged to include the Fishguard service in their franchise arrangements and Pembrokeshire is now paying the cost for that oversight, she told the Western Telegraph.

At Transport Questions in the House of Commons this week she asked Government ministers to stress to the Strategic Rail Authority the need to provide adequate investment in rail links to West Wales.

Currently, the Rail Authority is considering bids from companies for the All-Wales Rail Franchise. There is concern to ensure that the minimum level of service required for the Fishguard link meets local needs and demands.

The Transport Minister confirmed that 20% more funding is now being allocated to rail services in Wales.

That may be the case, said Mrs Lawrence, but we need to make sure that services west of Swansea are receiving their fair share of attention and investment.

The rail network is important in Pembrokeshire to companies such as the Stena Line ferry company in Fishguard which relies on the Paddington to Fishguard service for its foot passengers, and to the tourist industry as a whole.

But Mrs Lawrence believed under-investment has put people off from travelling on the trains. The danger is that with a diminishing quality of service there will be a downward spiral resulting in less use of the trains. That could leave the way open for train operators to cut back further, she said.