Due to a fall in passengers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a Welsh-government owned company, Transport for Wales Rail Limited, took over day-to-day operations of the franchise on 7 February 2021.

[5][6][7] TfW was established as an arms-length body by the Welsh Government to provide support and expertise to the transport projects in Wales.

TfW stated this was to ensure their Canton depot "will have the required capacity and resilience to support the introduction of TfWs flagship Metro scheme alongside new rolling stock for the Wales and Borders network.

Both are multi-modal systems, integrating the heavy and light rail networks with local bus services, active travel and other modes of transport.

Fflecsi is part of TfW's increased investment in alternative transport modes, with further expansion planned across Wales following good progress and popularity of the service in Newport and Cardiff North.