 Originally, an hourly service was provided through a partnership between British Rail and local government, with the local authorities securing EU development funding and retaining ownership of the trains needed to operate the service.During 1997, as part of railway privatisation, responsibility for Swanline services passed from British Rail's Regional Railways sector to South Wales & West Railway, a newly created franchised train operating company.In 1999, the company halved the service to two-hourly, citing poor passenger usage and offering to purchase the rolling stock for use elsewhere.