Star comment: Time to get our train services back on track

They have faced strikes, working to rule, staff shortages, engineering works and now the prospect of ticket offices closing. Cancelled services are a way of life for many commuters.

The fact is, trains can no longer be trusted to get you to where you want to go.

There is huge stress involved each time a passenger misses a train - not that such impacts seem to matter to either side of the strikes, with neither railways bosses and the Government, or unions, willing to budge.

This situation is reflected in our survey on rail travel, where most believe services are unreliable and the vast majority have been affected by cancellations.

Rail companies have had a chance to show they can operate efficiently but too many of them have failed.

Many people now call for the railways to be brought back into public ownership, although those with memories of British Rail may not see that as the perfect solution.

Business is concerned that strikes and unreliability is having a fundamental impact on the economy of the wider West Midlands. And we aren’t even the worst-hit region - those relying on East Coast and Trans Pennine trains have relay many horror stories.

The trains don’t work well enough, fares are too high and it is an network wracked with industrial discontent.

Meanwhile, HS2 ploughs on with no obvious idea how it will help our public transport network. Our railways are a mess that needs sorting for the sake of the British economy and for the sanity of those travelling on it.

It’s high time the railways companies got a grip.

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There is huge financial pressure brought about by the summer holidays. Prices for holidays have gone up markedly at a time when families can ill-afford it.

It’s a truism, however, that the best things in life are free - just spending time with your child on walks or picnics can be hugely rewarding. But taking time out of work is also difficult.

While the long school holidays are a gift for most, they can be a nightmare for some.

Holiday clubs and activities at a price parents can afford are essential, but many have fallen by the wayside. It leaves many families passing their child around from pillar to post in order to juggle their daily routine.

The charity Working Families points out that its recent research found four in 10 low-income families have gone into debt to pay for childcare, nearly half have had to reduce their hours and a fifth have even quit their job to manage childcare.