Transport for Wales partners with two Flintshire shops for easy train ticket purchase

In a move aimed at enhancing customer convenience, Transport for Wales (TfW) has collaborated with a number of local businesses in north Wales and the Wirral to enable the purchase of train tickets at local shops.

The newly introduced Payzone initiative allows passengers to buy their train tickets alongside regular shop products, meaning travellers can obtain tickets in advance, using cash or card, without needing to rush at the station.

Transport for Wales’ press release says that “most of the retailers are within a 15-minute walk of a station.”

And that “shops in Wrexham, Gwersyllt, Buckley, Hawarden, Hawarden Bridge, Shotton, Neston and Upton are among those to sign up to the scheme.”

However, digging into the detail, just two shops in Flintshire have signed up for the ticket scheme, the Newsagent opposite Shotton Station and Buckley Express on Chester Road in Buckley, neither are a 15-minute walk from Hawarden station.

Speaking about the scheme, Community Retail Manager for TfW, Charlotte Yarnold, emphasised the focus on customer choice and support for local businesses.

She stated, “We want to give customers as much choice as possible when buying their tickets. Partnering up with Payzone means we can give our customers that element of choice in areas where there may not be a local booking office. And it will help the footfall into those businesses too which is incredibly important to us with communities being at the heart of what we do.”

The initiative is part of Transport for Wales’ five-point plan to improve service on the Wrexham to Bidston line.

In June, TfW published a 5-step plan it hopes will address issues with rail services on the Wrexham to Bidston line following months of disruption.

TfW took its leased Class 150 units from the Wrexham to Bidston line to fill gaps left elsewhere on the Wales rail network due to the withdrawal of Class 175 trains following a number of fires.

After weeks without trains, in early April, TfW introduced its long-awaited Class 230 trains on the Wrexham to Bidston line, described as a ‘soft launch’ allowing TfW to monitor the trains and make alterations if needed. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

However, the new trains have encountered a number of technical issues and struggle to keep the top timetable.

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