THE contract to run rail services throughout south Wales for the next 15 years will be awarded in May, it has been announced.

The current contract for the Wales and Borders franchise, which has been run by Arriva Trains Wales since 2003, expires at the end of this year.

And, speaking in the Senedd today, economy and transport secretary Ken Skates said the 15-year contract to run the service, which also includes the planned South Wales Metro, will be awarded in May.

"By the end of May this year, our process will culminate with the award of the first rail services contract made here in Wales," he said.

"This follows intensive evaluation and post-tender discussions, led by Transport for Wales, to ensure the contract fully captures the quality service and commitments offered at final tender."

Arriva dropped out of bidding or the contact in October last year, leaving French joint venture KeolisAmey, Hong Kong-based MTR Corporation, and the Abellio Group, which runs bus and rail networks across Europe, still in the running.

Although Abellio is currently without a construction partner following the collapse of Carillion earlier this month, the company has said it will continue with the bid.

Also speaking in the Senedd today, Newport East AM John Griffiths said he hoped the new contract would address problems with overcrowding on trains.

Addressing Mr Skates, he said: "Commuters are often on grossly overcrowded trains travelling to Bristol.

"There are issues of people being asked to stand in toilets to allow more people to get on, people fainting, people being left on the platforms, issues of unreliability and, indeed, affordability.

"Prices have gone up substantially by, I think, around a third over 10 years, without a commensurate improvement in quality of service. Understandably, people are often very annoyed, if not demoralised."

Mr Skates replied: "It's unacceptable to have crowding to such a degree as we're witnessing at the moment on the train network."

He said: "It's our determined position to ensure that quality improves, that punctuality improves, that the frequency of train journeys improves, that capacity, most certainly, improves noticeably, and that technological solutions also improve."