Crazy state of sardine service

Five years of commuter misery could be on the cards for rail passengers caught up in the Metrolink fall-out.

A shortage of carriages on the Rochdale line through Mills Hill and into Manchester means trains arriving at Mills Hill are bursting at the seams.

Passengers are either unable to get on or have to stand squashed like sardines for the length of their journey.

An extra carriage had been added at peak times, but passengers complain there are still horrendous problems throughout the day.

It is understood that part of the problem is down to the line not being electrified and only being able to carry diesel trains. Moreover, Sunday services rely wholly on volunteers coming forward to man them.

An extra 106 carriages have been promised to the North-West from 1,300 pledged nationally, but because local trains were diesel, the Rochdale line could only look forward to getting 20-year-old second-hand carriages.