COMMUTERS in Barnsley have railed against the ‘embarrassing’ morning train service to Sheffield with people ‘packed in like sardines’ and unable to get on and off overcrowded trains.
Rail users said the 8am service from Barnsley to Sheffield, which stops at every stop, is particularly overcrowded.
They say the problems started with the timetable change in May, but have continued to get worse ever since.
Kevin Osborne, of Mary Street, Little Houghton, called the 8am ‘stopper’ train ‘embarrassing’.
“It’s become noticeably busier since they changed the timetable and it’s been bad since the start of the academic year,” Kevin said.
“The train simply isn’t big enough, there’s two or three of these 1980s carriages with about 160 people on each carriage.
“They’re all right for short commuter journeys, but not day in day out, week after week. The only positive is it is a great way to strike up conversation with someone when they’re two inches from your face.”
He added that people could neither get on nor get off the train as it stopped at Wombwell, Elsecar and Chapeltown, and staff ‘had no chance of getting down to check tickets’.
He said: “The staff and drivers are embarrassed, they’re doing the best they can and some are encouraging people to complain.
“You can receive compensation for a delayed train, but not for an unpleasant journey.
“The solution isn’t going to present itself overnight, but when it comes to extra trains, London and the south east seem to get them and we get the cast-offs.
“Forget High Speed Two, they need to deal with Low Speed One first.”
Debbie Cockerill, 32, of Merchant Croft, Monk Bretton, works at the University of Sheffield.
She said: “I used to use the train more often. I used to cycle to get here but I stopped when I couldn’t get on with my bike.
“I now drive more often because it’s just so busy, there’s only ever two or three carriages and they’re always packed. You would think they could put another carriage on, that seems the most obvious solution and it’s so simple.”
Edward Forbes, 33, travels from Pontefract Road, Cudworth to Sheffield.
“Yesterday was just atrocious but it had actually been getting steadily better,” Edward said.
“There’s always unrest. If you buy a monthly pass like I do, you do feel a bit put out when you’re essentially paying to be stood up every day.
“The alternative is to get the bus but that takes about an hour. It’s always going to be bad when the students go back, but the last four weeks it has only been two or three carriages. But realistically, how many extra carriages could they put on?”
Mayor of South Yorkshire Dan Jarvis said transport is one of his main concerns for the region, and he wants to work with rail operators to find a solution.
Mr Jarvis said: “I regularly travel on that service myself so I’ve seen first hand the level of overcrowding people who are coming from Barnsley have to endure. It’s completely unacceptable.
“People have talked to me in the mornings and sent me messages on Twitter about that train and about the fact that they’re packed in like sardines.
“It’s a matter I have raised with both the train operator and also raised with Transport for the North.
“In 2018 we shouldn’t have to endure that on a regular basis to not even be able to get a seat which you’ve paid for.
“I am encouraged to hear that the Pacer trains will be phased out of use by the end of 2019, and while there are specific concerns raised about these morning commutes, the fact is that the level of service in and out of Barnsley more widely is not fit for the needs of people using it,” he said.
“The Pacer train is something that should be in a museum, not on the rails.
“We need a greater level of transport infrastructure and investment in the rail service in the north and specifically in Barnsley, and I have long advocated that we need a fairer share of the cake.
“Our commuters endure a service that’s considerably less than would be expected in other parts of the country.”
A spokesman for Northern said: “We realise that customers experiencing overcrowding during peak travel times are frustrated and we apologise to anyone who has an unpleasant journey because of this.
“We always seek to use all carriages at our disposal and deploy all available resources across our network, which encompasses the biggest towns and cities across the north of England.
“We are in the process of refurbishing our trains and phasing out the Pacers, which will be removed by 2019 and replaced by 98 brand new, purpose built trains.
“Of course, this can’t happen overnight and our trains will be phased in and out of refurbishment in order to ensure minimum impact on our services.
“Further changes are on the way, but we ask that our customers bear with us whilst we continue to improve their stations and services, delivering a rail service fit for the 21st century.”
