Transport for Wales has introduced the first of six trains that are being fully refurbished and modified to carry ten bicycles and e-bikes.
The train is a Class 153 No. 153552 which has entered service on the Heart of Wales Line between Swansea and Shrewsbury.
With fantastic walking and cycling opportunities in Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Powys, and Shropshire, Transport for Wales spotted an opportunity to encourage leisure travellers to travel by train.
An additional benefit of the modified units is their extra seats compared with the single-car trains that currently operate on the line.
The carriages are being refurbished and modified by Chrysalis Rail at Landore depot in Swansea, each carriage is being given a specially designed livery to reflect the best the Heart of Wales Line has to offer.
During the modifications, several seats were removed from the Class 153 trains to make space for ten bicycles, including sufficient room for tandems.
The modified units will be coupled to a standard carriage that includes a fully accessible toilet and space for two more bicycles, providing an overall provision of 12 spaces.
As there will now be two-car units in service on the line, their total capacity will increase from the current 66 seats to 108.
In 2023, ScotRail introduced similar modified carriages on services to the Highlands, and also in 2023 a £2 million cycling legacy fund was established to promote and enhance the cycling infrastructure and services across the railway network in Scotland.
“It was an exciting new development for the line. This has been a fantastic project to work on and a great investment to make the most of what the Heart of Wales line has to offer. By the summer when all the trains are running you’ll be able to take up to 12 bikes for leisure or commuting. It’s a fantastic example of upcycling, taking an older train and refurbishing it for a new purpose to help more people get out and use their bikes to enjoy some of the best countryside Wales and England has to offer. This is a unique offering for us and an exciting new development for the line and I hope all our customers get to enjoy the service soon.”
Matthew Payn, Transport for Wales Project Manager
Responses
I’ve now travelled on one of these and the seating is rubbish. It’s a disaster. The opposing seats are so close that 2 people cannot sit opposite each other – always assuming you can get your leg past the table support, which many people won’t be able to. And the unit I travelled on had no soap dispenser or hand dryer in the toilet, and one of the windows was steamed up between panes. Were the design team asleep on the job? How could the install team not have realised? This is the rubbish we have to put up with on the Heart of Wales Line.