AN EXPRESS bus service branded a “publicly funded ghost train” is being reviewed five months after it was launched.

The T9 Cardiff Airport service – running at 20-minute intervals to and from Cardiff and the Vale – has become the subject of controversy with eyewitnesses reporting it regularly running without passengers on board.

Transport Minister Edwina Hart said: "It was always the intention to review the service after it had been operational for a few months and the minister has asked Professor Stuart Cole to examine whether any revisions to the current service are required without compromising its principal objectives as an express service.”

Vale-based South Wales Central AM Andrew RT Davies described the service as a "publicly funded ghost train" and added: “As a local resident I regularly see this bus, invariably empty except for the driver.

"At almost half a million (pounds) in Welsh Labour government subsidy, that's an exceptionally expensive service to support and on current passenger numbers is simply unsustainable.

"Reliable transport links are integral to the success of Cardiff Airport, but at present this route simply isn't providing value for money."

Cardiff Bus revised its X91 service, to omit the airport, following the introduction of the T9 service.