The ‘Carew Castle Express’ has been unveiled to mark the introduction of brand-new Transport for Wales (TfW) trains connecting west Wales with Swansea.
Named as part of TfW’s Magnificent Train Journey competition, the name ‘Carew Castle Express’ was chosen by year 5 pupil Rhys Protheroe from Johnstown Primary School.
The Class 197 trains have recently been introduced between Swansea and Carmarthen, with work progressing to introduce the trains further west to Milford Haven and Fishguard Harbour, expected to be completed later this year.
Soon every service west of Carmarthen will be on one of the brand-new trains.
Rhys and other children from the school were invited to Carmarthen Railway Station today, November 16, to see the winning name on the side of one of TfW’s brand new Class 197 trains.
Chief Commercial Officer for TfW Alexia Course said: “We’re excited to be running our brand-new trains in West Wales and we’re adding more to our network every few weeks.
“The new trains really transform the customer experience and as we add more to our network, we’re building resilience and seeing an improvement in our performance.
“We’re delighted to be able to invite one of our Magnificent Train Journey competition winners along to see their chosen name on the train and help inspire the next generation of travellers to chose public transport.”
As part of an £800 million investment, TfW first introduced the Class 197s to the Wales and borders network at the start of this year.
Over the coming months and throughout next year, TfW will continue adding new trains to their network, with 37 Class 197s already delivered, and another 40 to come.
The Class 197 will run throughout the length and breadth of the network and will become the backbone of TfW mainline services.
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