THE mayor of a Powys town serviced by the popular and scenic Heart of Wales line has branded proposals to reduce the number of trains running on it as “ridiculous”.

Transport for Wales (TfW) last week revealed plans to reduce the number of services running through Llandrindod Wells from five to four per day, with the removal of two late evening services to Llandovery and Llandrindod also proposed from December 2024.

The Heart of Wales Line runs from Swansea to Shrewsbury, calling at multiple stops throughout Radnorshire and Breconshire, including Builth Road.

Builth Wells Town Council has called the proposals negative and says Powys is “once again being ignored” by the Welsh Government.

Builth mayor Mark Hammond, in a post published on the town council’s Facebook page on April 19, said: “Transport for Wales have unveiled plans to reduce the number of services running through Llandrindod Wells from 5 to 4 each day.

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“The removal of two late evening services to Llandovery and Llandrindod are also proposed from December 2024.

“This is another negative loss to Powys, particularly for those who use the train for getting to work and for tourists coming to our county.

“The current service is subject to cancellations and delays, as well as a lack of investment.

“At a time when government is encouraging people to reduce the use of cars, and at the same time wanting to see development of the tourist economy, this decision seems ridiculous.

“It appears to be Powys once again being ignored by the Welsh Government.

“With the South Wales Metro set to cost over £1 billion and TfW being given further funding of £125 million, it seems that once again the county is being neglected and the urban south of the country is receiving huge amounts of investment.”

County Times: Builth Wells Town Council has called the proposals negative and says Powys is “once again being ignored” by the Welsh Government. Builth Wells Town Council has called the proposals negative and says Powys is “once again being ignored” by the Welsh Government. (Image: None)

John Hardwick, reacting to the news, said: “The Sunday train service is a joke; they need to put the same train times on Sundays as in the week.

“They also never put on a late service on Saturdays, the main day which people would have used it for going off for the day. We are let down in Mid Wales by Transport for Wales.”

Another commentator criticised Welsh Labour, saying: “(They) think Wales just exists south of the M4.”

TfW said the changes had been made as part of its future timetable review. “We’ve spent time reviewing our longer-term rail timetable commitments to ensure they best meet the demands of customers and are fit for the needs of passengers,” said TfW in a statement.

“Our future planning is based on a number of evidence-based factors including demand and growth trends, as well as social and economic factors.

“Our long-term strategy was developed by giving careful consideration to all of these.”