LOCAL business owners have expressed anger over the May bank holiday rail disruption.

Engineering work took place between Oxenholme Lake District and Windermere, with some claiming it impacted on trade.

Nigel Wilkinson, the Managing Director of Windermere Lake Cruises, said that although he understands that work needs to be done, he would prefer it to take place during the quieter months.

"It's really important that there is an understanding of how important the visitor economy is," he said. "It's worth 2.5 billion pounds.

"There needs to be a better balance between what Network Rail are trying to do and what we want to achieve."

Mr Wilkinson said that the impact that the disruption will have had on trade is both short and long-term.

"It's difficult to quantify how much was due to the weather and how much was due to the trains," he said. "How many were going to come by train and decided they would not? How many booked in advance and will not come back in the future?"

Going forward, Mr Wilkinson would like to see more consideration from Network Rail.

"Does it have to be done over bank holiday weekend?" he said. "Could it not be done in quieter times of the year? Do the work in November, January, even February if we can avoid half term."

Jim Trotman, the Community Rail Partnership Officer at Cumbria County Council, agrees that a better balance needs to be struck, particularly when there is such a drive towards encouraging tourists to travel sustainably.

"Over the bank holiday weekend, the trains are full to the ceiling," Mr Trotman said. "Network Rail say that only half the people travel over the bank holiday. That may be true for Manchester or Leeds or the big cities but not for the Lake District."

However, a spokesperson for Network Rail defended the work. They said: "There is never a perfect time to close the railway and our essential upgrade and maintenance work in the Oxenholme area was carefully planned to cause the least disruption to passengers - weekends and bank holidays typically see fewer than half the usual number of passenger journeys take place.

"The extra day also allows us to carry out bigger pieces of work which we wouldn't be able to complete during a normal weekend."