MORE than 160 train cancellations last month on a line that carries commuters and tourists into the heart of the Lake District has been branded 'shambolic' by rail campaigners.

Angry passengers, who have been left stranded at Lakes Line stations between Oxenholme and Windermere, are not only voicing their frustrations but are choosing not to travel by rail.

Northern Rail, which runs services along the ten-mile stretch of line, have blamed the cancellations and long delays on driver shortages and lack of electrification.

In April there were 160 train cancellations peaking with 14 trains not running on one day alone. The last full week of April saw 92 cancellations - two out of every five trains running.

Dick Smith, assistant secretary of the Lakes Line Rail User Group, said the cancellations were ruining the line's good reputation.

"We are totally fed up, very disappointed and downhearted," said Mr Smith. "This has been going on since the summer that Northern took over the franchise in 2016.

"It just makes the whole service uncertain. If you can't trust the trains then you are going to find alternative ways to travel.

"I know of people who have got the train to work in the morning only to find that all the afternoon trains home have been cancelled.

"People have said they have stopped buying seasonal tickets because it is not worth it.

"I spoke to a man who was on holiday who had had bad experiences the last two years, and he rightly wondered if there was any point getting the train to the Lakes anymore."

Mr Smith said he had been to a meeting with Northern Rail managers in Preston along LLRUG chairman Robert Talbot, only to find that their Northern service back up the Lakes Line from their changeover at Oxenholme had been cancelled.

"In a word, it is shambolic," said Mr Talbot. "The statistics are appalling. Northern can't seem to operate a working train service.

"The LLRUG are meeting with the transport focus watchdog, who saw what was going on and contacted me and asked to meet.

"They were shocked by the number of cancellations."

Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron said that over the past six weeks his postbag has been filled to the brim with letters from people sick and tired of turning up at a station to find their train has been cancelled.

"I’ve seen it for myself too when I’ve been at Oxenholme and Windermere stations recently," he said. "Fourteen cancellations in a day is simply not good enough and local people deserve better than this shambles."

Mr Farron has called for the Department for Transport to strip Northern of the Lakes Line franchise.

"Stripping them of the franchise isn't a policy of ours, but I can understand why Mr Farron has said that to them," said Mr Smith. "The service has got steadily worse under Northern.

"It was the Department for Transport who said that the Lakes Line should be taken over by Northern. We wanted the franchise to go to Trans Pennine.

"The line is separated from all the rest of Northern's lines so we didn't think it would work. Unfortunately we have been proved right."

Yesterday, (May 2) all trains due to take passengers between Windermere and Oxenholme were cancelled and replaced with coaches.

Northern said this was due to a shortage of drivers.

The Gazette went to Windermere station to speak to some of the frustrated passengers.

John and Tina Coffin, from Arkansas, USA, ere on holiday and needed to get to Oxenholme for a train to Manchester.

"The trains were cancelled on our way to Windermere, and now they are cancelled on our way back," said Mr Coffin. "It makes travelling very uncertain. It makes it much harder to get about on holiday."

Peter Mills, from Kendal, said: "These cancellations have been happening so much now it is a very familiar sight.

"It has been happening every single day.

"You can tell there's a problem because there's nobody on the platforms any more."

Northern were asked by the Gazette to comment on the issue but had not provided a statement at the time of going to press.

Users of the Lakes Line are not accepting Northern's excuses for the poor service.

Mr Smith said: "The lack of electrification isn't Northern's fault but I don't think it is having any effect at the moment because they have the same time table as they did two years ago.

"They say they are having problems with staff because of retirements and taking staff away to train on new trains, but they should have been able to foresee this. There is no resilience in their system. They can't cope as soon as something goes wrong."

When questioned about the possibility of taking the line over, a spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: "We know passengers have endured cancellations on the Lakes Line due to industrial action and we are closely monitoring Northern’s performance as well as its plans to address staffing issues.

"All trains on the Northern route will be brand new or refurbished by 2020 and we are continuing to work with train operators in the north to find ways to reduce delays and improve reliability across the region."