“A national disgrace” says opposition

“Overcrowding on our railways is fast becoming a national disgrace thanks to the Tories,” claimed Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald.

“It will come as little surprise to long-suffering commuters to hear that overcrowding on trains has reached record levels, but the bad news is that it’s set to get even worse. At the current rate, some of the most vital commuter routes in the country will be appallingly cramped by the end of this Parliament.”

McDonald claimed that a Labour Government would “stand up for the interests of passengers rather than train companies, taking the network back into public ownership and creating a new body to have strategic oversight for the railway”.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “These are shocking new figures that show once again that the British people are paying the highest fares in Europe to travel on rammed out and unreliable services, while the private train companies are laughing all the way to the bank. It is a national scandal.”

ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan said: “If only we had cattle trucks instead of carriages then fare-paying passengers would be much better off! Because we have legislation - statutory protection - for animals being transported but not for passengers. Which is why so many trains are not just uncomfortable, but seriously overcrowded.

“It cannot be right that, after 20 years of privatisation, people travelling and working on our railways are treated like this.”