Many of us in Fleetwood have no choice but to get a bus or tram to Blackpool to then catch a train to travel further afield. If that wasn’t bad enough, once again rail company Northern has been cancelling more train services blaming ‘the impact of ongoing engineering work, often planned at short notice.’ At the weekend Blackpool North to Liverpool trains were scrapped, with passengers told to change at Wigan North Western to catch a Blackpool-Manchester Airport service, while Blackpool South to Colne services were also reduced to just one train every two hours.

Despite the appalling service most of us receive – cancellations, over-crowding, poor facilities – the Government has announced a 3.2% increase in train fares. The average commuter will now be paying £2,980 for their season ticket, £786 more than when the Tories came to power in 2010. The Government’s shambolic mismanagement of our railways has been a national embarrassment and they must now step in to freeze fares charged on the worst performing routes.

In Government Labour would take back control of our railways by bringing them into public ownership so they are run in the interests of passengers, not private profit.