PLANS to introduce more services to Manchester Airport from North Wales have been ditched by Transport for Wales (TfW).

TfW said their new planned service, to link Bangor to Manchester Airport, is not being introduced. It was set to run every hour.

There is currently a direct TfW train to and from Llandudno to Manchester Airport. This was set to change to a 'one train per hour' service from Manchester to Bangor (instead of Llandudno).

The new service would have meant a "slight increase" in frequency and extra stops to Bangor. 

In their December 2023 timetable and service update, TfW said new trains "not arriving in time" meant that some timetable additions will no longer be taking place in December 2023 as planned.

A spokepserson for TfW said: "Due to a number of factors, largely linked to the pandemic, the number of trains we had expected to have delivered and ready for service haven’t arrived with us in time, meaning we don’t have the number we need to deliver some of our timetable uplifts.

"These challenges mean that some of our committed timetable additions will no longer be taking place in December 2023 as planned.

"We are pleased to confirm that the hourly Chester to Liverpool service, which was withdrawn during Covid-19, will be restored from December. This is one of the last few services that had been removed during Covid which has now been restored. Despite this positive news, there are other additional services, which we won’t be able to introduce as planned.

"As part of this change for December and recognising new travel patterns in the post-pandemic world, we will also be reviewing longer term commitments to ensure they best meet the demands of customers and are fit for the needs of future generations.

"The output of the review will be shared with the Welsh Government in the autumn.

"This is to ensure the long term sustainability of the network, and to ensure that our investment has maximum impact on our targets to enable more people to travel sustainably across Wales and its borders.

"In the meantime we remain committed to introducing new trains across our network over the coming months and improving our punctuality, reliability and performance."

There is a currently a direct TfW train to and from Llandudno to Manchester Airport which was due to change to one train per hour from Manchester to Bangor. This would have been instead of Llandudno. This would have meant a "slight increase" in frequency and extra stops to Bangor. 

TfW had also planned to introduce a 'one train per hour' service from Liverpool to Llandudno. TfW currently run a Liverpool to Chester service once every two hours.

The planned enhancements are now all under review.

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Darren Millar, MS for Clwyd West, said: "I have been advocating improved rail links to Manchester Airport for a number of years and was delighted when TfW first announced that they would be introducing more services from North Wales later this year. I am therefore extremely disappointed by their announcement.

“Improvements to routes between North Wales and airports in both Manchester and Liverpool are critical in connecting businesses and individuals to markets and job opportunities, as well as making international travel easier for people living in North Wales.

“Rail travellers in North Wales were looking forward to these improved links and will be as disappointed as me at the changes.

“TfW say they are 'absolutely committed to improving performance and providing enhanced rail services which meet the needs of the customers and communities we serve', I don’t think people in North Wales will see it that way.

“How will we ever get people off the roads if we don’t provide a reliable and frequent alternative?”