Great Western Railway has confirmed that its direct services between Penzance and Cardiff Central will not be part of its upcoming timetable.
At present, the railway operator, which operates local and long-distance services from Penzance to London Paddington and Cardiff Central, runs 11 services a day between Penzance and Cardiff.
However, in a bid to ‘provide best value for the taxpayer and reflect customer demand’, these will come to an end to be replaced by shorter services between Penzance and Exeter, and Exeter to Cardiff with platform changes at Taunton and Newton Abbot.
It is understood that the operator will be operating Class 175 trains, formerly with Transport for Wales on its local services upon the retirement of the ‘castle class’ former high speed train sets.
A spokesperson for Great Western Railway (GWR) said: “GWR currently operates 11 trains between Penzance and Cardiff each weekday, designed to serve shorter, local, journeys along the route. Most customers travelling further afield will use long distance services, which have fewer stops and tend to be up to 20 minutes quicker.
"To help provide best value for the taxpayer and reflect customer demand, we have been working with colleagues at CrossCountry to consolidate the services we offer, while maintaining the same number of services for customers overall.
"From May, this will see GWR operate direct Penzance to Exeter and Exeter to Cardiff services, with cross-platform changes at Taunton or Newton Abbot. CrossCountry will maintain direct services between Bristol, Taunton and beyond.
"We are always looking at ways to improve the range and number of services we offer, and the fleet required to do so. This includes the potential to operate other trains in the future, subject to necessary DfT approvals."