Shropshire Star comment: Trains don't take the strain

While many of us would dearly like to let the train take the strain, the pure misery associated with this particular mode of public transport is often too much to bear.

Catching a train, particularly on long distance services, has become a risk.

Those of us who plan a journey involving the railways know that we may not get to our destination on time.

We may not get there at all, at least not without having to hop on a replacement bus service at some point along the route, usually as a result of some last minute 'engineering work'.

And as new figures released today show, thousands of people in the West Midlands who catch the train to work each morning are being forced to stand.

This is, quite frankly, an appalling situation, particularly when you consider the high ticket prices associated with many routes around the region.

Train bosses are attempting to remedy the situation by putting on extra services and investing in new trains to increase capacity.

But this is a short-term solution for a problem that must be dealt with through a detailed inquiry.

So what can be done?

Labour wants to bring the whole service back into public ownership, presumably thinking that the disasters that befell British Rail would not happen all over again.

Some say that HS2 is the solution – the ludicrously expensive 'high speed' rail line that is not really that fast, or particularly useful for the vast majority commuters in this region.

Once again a common sense approach appears to be the very last item on the agenda when it comes to making our railways fit for purpose.

We need better stations, as well as modernised track and rolling stock. On top of that, is it too much to ask for providers to improve the way they pass on information to customers?

If a service is likely to be overcrowded, there should be plenty of advance notice.

And here's an idea. How about laying on some decent sized services during rush hour? When four carriage trains are passing through our major towns and cities it is little wonder there are no seats free.