We want our customers to be able to travel with us in comfort, whatever the time of year, whatever the weather.
Climate change means temperatures are rising across Wales, especially during the summer months. While many of us enjoy the hot, sunny weather, there are some who prefer it cooler. Our trains are designed to maintain temperatures in a range that’s comfortable for everyone.
Here are a few questions we commonly get asked about air conditioning on our trains.
Have you got air conditioning on all your trains?
We’ve got it on approximately 60 per cent of our trains. These include our:
- Class 197s - operating on most main line routes
- Class 158s - operating on most main line routes
- Class 231s - operating on the Rhymney line and Vale of Glamorgan line
- Class 230s - operating on the Borderlands line (Wrexham-Bidston)
- Mark 4 coaches - operating our Cardiff-Holyhead and Cardiff-Manchester services
- Class 170s - operating on routes including Maesteg-Cheltenham and Cardiff-Ebbw Vale
Some of our older trains don’t have air conditioning as they were built at a time when it wasn’t common in the UK.
We’re continuing to bring in newer, better trains on all our routes that will include air conditioning.
Why didn’t the air conditioning work on my train?
Our train maintenance teams work hard to keep the air conditioning on our trains working as it should be, but faults do happen.
Sometimes the air conditioning on a train won’t work properly if the doors between carriages are blocked and can’t close. This causes the system to become overworked by trying to cool the warmer air outside the saloon. We ask our customers to try and avoid blocking the doors if possible, although we appreciate this can be difficult if a train is very busy.
If you’re on a train and the air conditioning isn’t working properly, you can let us know on X at @tfwrail - just tell us your carriage number (the conductor can let you know if you’re not sure). This can help us fix air conditioning faults on the same day they’re reported.
Can I open a window?
You can open your window on many of our trains. Please be mindful about doing this if the air conditioning is on as this may stop it working properly.
On some of our trains, you can let the conductor know if you’d like your window to be opened and they can do this with a key.
Why is the heating on in the summer?
None of our trains have the heating on during the summer.
If you feel warm air coming out of the vents, the air conditioning may not be working properly. Please alert the conductor or let us know on X at @tfwrail so we can investigate. Just tell us your carriage number (the conductor can let you know if you’re not sure).
What happens when I report an air conditioning fault?
As soon as you let us know about a fault, we’ll ask our mobile train technicians to investigate. Many faults are fixed on the same day they’re reported.
If further work is needed, we’ll send the train to one of our depots to get the problem sorted.
