Problems With Transport for Wales

The photo shows a steam train arriving at Bury Station. There are more photos of steam and diesel trains at Bury Station and on the East Lancs Railway in this post.

Recently I’ve had a lot of trouble getting Transport for Wales to answer some questions about rail tickets.

Heart of Wales Circular Ranger

The Heart of Wales railway is very interesting; it goes through some magnificent Welsh countryside and is well worth travelling on. The railway line starts in Shrewsbury and ends in Swansea. It takes about four hours.

There’s another interesting route between the two cities, along the Welsh Marches (the Wales/England Border), travelling through Newport, Hereford and Ludlow. The trip also takes around four hours.

Transport for Wales has a circular ranger ticket that allows you to travel both routes. It’s valid for one or two days. You can stop off wherever you want. It’s a shame it’s not valid for three or four days, much more useful.

A trip I’m looking at doing is catching the train from Shrewsbury to Swansea along the Marches, stopping off at various towns along the way for refreshments (which means decent real ale!). A couple of nights in Swansea (I’ve only been there once, fifty years ago, for a few hours). Returning along the Heart of Wales line, stopping off at one or two places overnight. It’s a real shame this cannot be done with the ranger ticket.

With a monthly open return, you travel all the way on the outward date of the ticket; most allow a break of journey. You return anytime within a month, with a break of journey allowed. It seems that on the return part you can break the journey overnight. I’ve had this confirmed by several train guards and rejected by one.

I needed to confirm this, so I contacted them using the contact form on their website. They failed to respond. So, I contacted them again; they failed to respond. So, I contacted them again….. After three attempts, I gave up (and yes, I double-checked my email address to make sure it was correct). I wanted to use the contact form so I could get a written reply, in case I got an awkward guard.

I also wanted to know how much a monthly open return was; going out in one direction and returning in the other, and if a break of journey is allowed, especially overnight. This could not be done on their website.

Update 14 August 2026

It seems the circular return is only valid for a single day now; I can’t see the point of it now.

A period return from Shrewsbury to Swansea is not possible in both directions. You need to use singles. This becomes very expensive; a single is almost the same price as a return.

Ffestiniog Round Robin

Another very interesting trip from Transport for Wales is the Ffestiniog Round Robin.

I looked at doing this several years ago, but decided it was impossible. Back then I assumed the trip had to be done in a single day. Which was very, very difficult because you had to get the train from Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog (or vice versa) and there were very few trains between the two towns. If a train was cancelled, the whole trip fell apart. There were also difficulties co-ordinating trains at Blaenau Ffestiniog.

I was looking at the web page for the trip the other day; it says the ticket is valid for a single journey. Unfortunately, it does not say if the journey can be done over multiple days. I needed an answer to that. I was thinking of two nights in Machynlleth, with a side trip to Aberystwyth. Then two nights in Porthmadog, spending a day photographing the steam trains on the Ffestiniog Railway.

So, I went to the Transport for Wales website to get their contact number. I repeat, I went to the Transport for Wales website.

I rang the number; the person who answered could not answer my question. He suggested I contact Transport for Wales; I kid you not, that’s what he said. It seems the contact number for them puts you through to National Rail Enquiries (hmmmm).

So, another question I cannot get an answer to.

What’s wrong with them?

Update 14 August 2026

Back in June, I spent a weekend in Llandudno. While I was there, I asked about this ticket at the station. The clerk said the ticket is only valid for one day.

The timetable told me there were trains from Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog at: 08:05, this train is impossible when coming from Liverpool or Manchester; 10:25, this works as long as your train to Llandudno Junction is on time and it’s not cancelled; 13:25, this train is too late to complete the round trip. So, the entire trip hinges on one train.

I asked if I could get my money back if I missed that train due to a late inbound train, or if the train was cancelled. He said no. There is no point to this ticket.

Circular Tickets

I’d love to use one of these round-robin tickets stopping off at various towns overnight. Unfortunately, because of the time available, this is not possible. The only way you can do such a trip is by using single tickets between each stop. Which becomes horrendously expensive, depending on how many stops you have. You can reduce the cost by using saver tickets for specific trains, but if you miss the train you’re fucked. You cannot get the next train if you wake up with a hangover.

Post Covid, a lot more people are going on staycations.

A round-robin for four or five days would be a great help for these people, especially families.

Someone needs to think about having circular tickets. Maybe this is a job for AI.