A GWENT AM has demanded an apology from the Welsh Government over delays to work to double the number of trains travelling between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff.

Currently only one train an hour runs on the Ebbw Vale line. In 2015 the Welsh Government announced the single track would be upgraded to two lines, meaning trains could run in both directions simultaneously.

It was also announced services would run once every 30 minutes.

But work stopped in December 2016 after the Welsh Government ordered a review into the scheme, with no works having been carried out since.

And, speaking in the Senedd earlier this week, South Wales East AM Steffan Lewis called on economy and transport secretary Ken Skates to apologise over the issue.

"We’re approaching winter 2017 with no half-hourly service and the work remains incomplete," he said.

"Will the cabinet secretary please apologise to the people of the Ebbw Valley for this delay?

"Will he give them a full explanation and will he provide them with a new completion date?"

Replying, Mr Skates said officials from his office were working with Network Rail to review the scheme.

"We are absolutely committed to ensuring that communities along that line are better connected," he said.

He added the South Wales Metro scheme includes plans to four run trains her hour on the line.

"The outcome of the review that I commissioned will inform the most cost-effective methodology for completing the infrastructure works," he said.

"They are works that we are committed to, and I would say to (Mr Lewis') constituents that we are determined to ensure that we deliver a step change in the service that they receive, that we are determined to better connect these communities together, and that we will do it for the least cost to the taxpayer."

Speaking afterwards Plaid Cymru AM Mr Lewis said: “The Ebbw Vale line is a key route, both for commuters and for leisure."

Calling for the Welsh Government and Network Rail to set out a firm completion date for the work, he added: "It is not acceptable that the people of the Ebbw Valley have been kept in the dark while the review is underway."