The ''Premier Service'' is a passenger train service operated by

Transport for Wales Rail Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail ( and ), is a Welsh State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Governme ...

between

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

and Cardiff Central in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

History

On 15 December 2008, the ''Premier Service'' commenced operating between

and Cardiff Central. Originally named ''Y Gerallt Gymro'' (

Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales (; ; ; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...

), it was funded by the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

as a premium service to connect North and South Wales. Grand Central and

Wrexham & Shropshire Wrexham & Shropshire (legally ''Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway Company Limited'') was an open access operator that provided passenger rail services in the United Kingdom. Services between Wrexham General railway station, Wrexham Gen ...

expressed an interest in operating the service; however, the contract was awarded to

Wales & Borders franchise The Wales & Borders franchise () is a railway franchise for passenger services in the United Kingdom operated since 7 February 2021 by publicly owned operator, Transport for Wales Rail. The franchise covers the majority of rail services in W ...

holder Arriva Trains Wales. Four Class 57 locomotives (5731357316) were sublet from Virgin Trains West Coast to operate in

top and tail A top-and-tail railway train has locomotives at both ends, for ease of changing direction, especially where the terminal station has no run-round loop. This is a British term. It is normal for only the leading locomotive to power the train when i ...

formation, with one

Mark 3 Mark 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It relates a conflict over healing on the Sabbath, the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, a conflict with the Jerusalem scribes and a meeting of ...

and three

Mark 2 Mark 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. In this chapter, the first arguments between Jesus and other Jewish religious teachers appear. Jesus heals a paralyzed man and forgives his sins, mee ...

carriages. By February 2009, the service was being operated by a single Class 57. In March 2012, the Class 57 were replaced by

DB Schenker Schenker AG (trading as DB Schenker) is a subsidiary of Danish logistics company DSV. The company was previously owned by German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, which acquired the subsidiary back in 2002. It comprises divisions for air, land, sea fr ...

Class 67. The Mark 2 carriages were replaced with Mark 3 carriages at the same time. It originally ran via

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

but, from September 2012, it was rerouted via Wrexham General after a

Driving Van Trailer A Driving Van Trailer (DVT) is a Great Britain, British purpose-built control car railway vehicle that allows the driver to operate with a locomotive in Push-pull train, push-pull formation from the opposite end of a train. A key benefit of o ...

was added; this allowed the train to change direction at

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. In October 2018, operation of the ''Premier Service'' passed with the Wales & Borders franchise to

KeolisAmey Wales Keolis Amey Operations (), Full legal name is bilingual including the Welsh name, as "Keolis Amey Operations / Gweithrediadau Keolis Amey Limited". trading as Transport for Wales Rail Services (TfW Rail Services) was a Welsh train operating c ...

. In March 2020, the service was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

with the Mark 3 coaches withdrawn. It resumed in June 2021, with Class 67s hauling Mark 4 coaches and, , three trains in each direction now operate five days a week.

Services

The ''Premier Service'' departs

at 05:27, and departs Cardiff Central at 17:22. It features first-class accommodation and a dining car with a travelling chef. First class customers have the option of purchasing a breakfast, lunch or dinner, cooked to order, by the on-board chef. Normal standard-class fares are valid on the train. As well as serving Cardiff to Holyhead, Transport for Wales introduced 6 return services Monday-Saturday between Cardiff and Manchester, and 1 return service between Swansea and Manchester on Monday-Saturday, with 2 services on Sunday, using the same rolling stock. https://225group.org.uk/docs/Intercity-225-Services-TfW.pdf

References

External links

{{Transport in Wales, state=collapsed Named passenger trains of the United Kingdom Railway services introduced in 2008 2008 establishments in the United Kingdom