One of the first trains to carry the new Transport for Wales livery spotted in Chester

One of the first trains to carry the trains to carry the Transport for Wales livery was spotted in Chester this morning.

Several posts on social media captured the Class 175’s first outing on Monday, the 08.31 service from Manchester Piccadilly to Milford Haven.

The train which up until the weekend was painted in the blue of Arriva Trains Wales was spotted bearing the new Transport for Wales colours alongside Chester station platform, a picture of it was posted on to Twitter by @puru_two

Transport for Wales takes over the running of passenger rail services for Wales and the Borders on Monday October 15.

Welsh Transport Secretary Ken Skates has outlined some of the many changes, totalling nearly £5bn, set to transform rail services over the 15-year contract period.

Some of the improvements will be immediate, including a new customer website and app, new branding appearing across the network and enhanced Welsh language service provision – while other will be introduced as soon as possible.

These include plans to spend £194m on station improvements, including the building of five new stations, and the deep cleaning of stations from this December.

Ken Skates said:

“Our plans go beyond a traditional transport project – they have to become the spark for wider economic renewal. They have to help individuals, businesses and communities who need a reliable, integrated transport system to help them find a new job, support their business to expand, and bring new investment to their town.

The Metro project is not only about dealing with today’s transport problems, but how we provide opportunities for the future —and not just in transport terms, but the impact that the Metro infrastructure will have on economic possibilities for people throughout south Wales.”

Other major benefits of the new Wales and Borders rail contract include:

An additional 600 staff will be recruited to deliver the service in a range of roles and 450 new apprenticeships (30 every year) will also be created over the life of the contract.

£1.9 billion will be invested in improving passengers’ travel experience, including an £800 million investment in trains, boosting overall service capacity by 65%.

By 2023 95% of journeys will be on a 148 brand new trains, half of which will be assembled in Wales.