Commuters suffer after carriages lent to lines with leaves

Rail commuters have been packed in like cattle because carriages were given to other lines to deal with problems caused by leaves, it has emerged.

Operator First Great Western reduced the size of some Reading to London trains from six carriages to four and transferred them to the North Downs Line.

These smaller services are suffering delays because they are badly affected by leaves on the track and need more weight to get traction against the slippery surface.

However, it has caused chaos for some Maidenhead commuters who have been crammed in for the last month.

Father-of-two Adam Hale said: "I can't understand why they would reduce the size of trains on one of the busiest lines, it doesn't make sense."
A spokesman for FGW said only two services would now be affected after carriages were returned to most of the problem trains.