Mr. Black told the Assembly Plenary today of his concerns that new Super Express coaches, which will be rolled out on the mainline from 2015, will be ten foot longer than those currently in use, so as to save weight and increase seating. This will require modifications to the track outside Swansea and Carmarthen stations because of sharp turns.
Network Rail has refused to commit to carrying out those changes at this time. UK Ministers have also failed to reassure the 74 workers in the Swansea maintenance depot that their services will continue to be needed for the new trains.
Mr Black said: "I am pleased to see that the Minister has acknowledged my concerns and agreed to take this issue further. I welcome the additional investment in mainline services but if it leads to a cut in services or even job losses, it will be a case of one step forward but two steps back