THE use of Barry’s three railway stations has increased by 55,000 in just a year, according to the latest Office of Rail and Road (ORR) data.

In 2016/17 there were 1,468,660 entries or exits from Barry Docks, Barry Island, and Barry, compared to 1,413,474 the previous year.

Barry Island saw the largest rise with an increase of 58,000, while Barry Dock also increased by 8,000.

But Barry itself dropped by 11,000.

This indicates that while there has been some change in commuter habits, from Barry to Island or Docks, there has still been a significant increase in the town’s rail users.

An Arriva Trains Wales spokesman said work at Barry Island funfair may well have had an impact in terms of bringing more tourists to the area.

He added: “With various improvements over the years we’re now running more trains than ever before across Wales and have also seen the introduction of wifi on our fleet.

“According to Network Rail we have been the best train operator in the UK this year for Right Time performance.

“This is arriving at the final destination en route within 59 seconds of the advertised time.”

Arriva Trains Wales customer services director, Lynne Milligan said: “We know our railway and our stations are key to connecting communities and in helping build economies.

“The fact we’ve seen such continuous growth on our network here in Wales is testimony to the performance, frequency and reliability of the services on offer to customers.

“Barry is an excellent example of this, where passenger numbers have continued to grow in line with services.

“All across Wales we’re seeing businesses spring up around stations and we are proud to be part of a growing Welsh economy.”