A ‘FLAGSHIP’ scheme at Chepstow station will provide facilities for tourists and a coach/ bus interchange.

KeolisAmey, a French-Spanish joint venture which will take over operations from Arriva Trains Wales from October, has committed to spend £800m on new trains in Wales, along with a number of what has been described as ‘flagship’ schemes.

In addition to the Wales and Borders rail franchise, the operator is also responsible for delivering the South Wales Metro.

Other stations to benefit from the flagship scheme will include Abergavenny, which Transport for Wales says will be a Key Disability Wales pilot station for accessibility and inclusive design, Llanelli, Wrexham and Merthyr Tydfil.

The operator has committed to invest in Chepstow and Cardiff Central stations from April 2025 and Abergavenny Station from April 2023, while pledging train service improvements including creating a one-train-per-hour service between Cardiff and Cheltenham from December 2022.

From 2023, an £800m investment will ensure that 95 per cent of journeys are on new trains.

More than half the trains will be assembled in Wales. On Sundays, an extra 294 services will run across Wales by December 2019.

£194m will be invested in station improvements, at least five new stations will be built across Wales. A £15m fund will make stations more accessible, and at least 1,500 new car parking spaces will be created.

More than 200 new ticket machines will be built, and TfW says tickets will be sold through local convenience stores to improve access.

Last week a petition was launched to improve rail services in Chepstow, which has so far been signed by more than 240 people.

“We call on the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to reconsider the franchise agreement for the new Wales and Border Rail operator to improve the level of service being offered to Chepstow,” it states.

“To provide only one train an hour to a town of the size and strategic importance of Chepstow – rail head for the Wye Valley – is poor indeed, compared with other towns in our Country and the Valley Lines. Two an hour each way should be a minimum. We recognise the need to get people out of their cars and on to public transport to help the environment. Improved rail services are a step towards this.”

The petition also highlights concerns over the future of the Cross Country franchise, with rumours the operator will be withdrawing its service. 124,000 Cross Country journeys pass through Chepstow and Lydney annually, with the operator combining the figures from both stations.

A public consultation is currently ongoing, running until 31st August, which claims there are no proposals to “remove services from anywhere completely”.

“Cross Country operates a service from Cardiff to Manchester once a day that currently detours via Bristol Temple Meads and therefore takes a lot longer than either using the Wales and Borders route via Shrewsbury or simply leaving Cardiff later and picking up the same train at Bristol Parkway. It does, though, plug a gap in the standard service pattern between Cardiff and Bristol Temple Meads, and provides an important early morning service from Cardiff, Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction and Patchway to Filton Abbey Wood and Bristol. If this (and the corresponding return service) can be covered by GWR we would look to withdraw it from Cross Country.”

In addition to rail improvements, TfW has also pledged to remove controversial Pacer trains in South East Wales by December 2019, and introduce pay-as-you-go for users of smartcards by April 2020.