Transport for Wales are investing heavily into their workforce as they have unveiled a new training facility to prepare new staff to join their network.
One City Place in Chester will house this facility, including a state-of-the-art simulator which will play a major part in the training of 64 drivers and 56 conductors over the next year, whilst also acting as a hub for station and ticket office staff, dispatchers, and the depot workforce.
The simulator will train the new drivers to operate TfW’s newest addition to its rolling stock network - the 77 brand new Class 197 trains, the first of which are currently in the final stages of testing and colleague training before entry into service this winter.
The training of new staff and deployment of the Class 197 come as part of an initiative from TfW to transform passenger experience across the Wales and Borders network. This £800m investment will ultimately deliver faster, more frequent services with better accessibility and reduced carbon emissions.
Jan Chaudhry-Van der Velde, Transport for Wales Managing Director, commented:
“We’re delighted to be opening our brand-new training facility in Chester.
“Chester has a long history as a railway city, dating back to the opening of the first railway here in 1840 – our investment in this new facility a stone’s throw away from the station will ensure it will continue to be an important centre for the rail industry for many years to come.
“One City Place has been fitted out to a very high standard, to ensure we’re providing the best possible facilities for our colleagues.”
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