Three-hour commutes and sardine-tin carriages: Chaos on the railways

And shuffling in from Burley-in-Wharfedale to the Halifax Courier offices each day, I too have suffered my fair share of frustration.

Delays and cancellations have become part of my daily routine, my office arrival time a source of mystery. The game of 'timetable roulette' played at whatever station I happen to arrive at has lost its charm and on one occasion I arrived home just in time to grab some dinner and settle in to catch the coverage of the chaos on the ten o'clock news.

This morning, several newspaper titles across the north joined forces to pile pressure on Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and his seemingly incompetent Department for Transport in their #OneNorth campaign.

With some media factions south of the Watford Gap unable or unwilling to provide this pressure, the campaign is a joy to behold, and has uncovered swathes of horror stories from rail users across the network.

This morning's commute featured a cancelled Wharfedale Line train, an uncomfortably crammed carriage and a Leeds Train Station platform so packed with weary travellers it caused me to miss my already delayed connection to Halifax. The following connection, also delayed, came with the announcement that due to a staff shortage there would be no ticket collector.

Door-to-door my commute took nearly three hours. Needless to say, I had plenty of time to read about the chaos on the rails.

I'm looking forward to my trip home already.

Alex has been documenting his ongoing rail frustrations in a Twitter thread that you can follow HERE.

Have you been affected by the rail chaos since the timetable changes? Do you have a horror story worth sharing? Let us know by emailing [email protected] or by sending us a message on Facebook or Twitter.