A POLITICIAN has claimed that railway chaos barred him from attending a debate on trains after multiple services were cancelled.

However, the major train operator has rebuffed his claims, saying that only one train was cancelled and his assertion of understaffing was untrue.

Tim Farron, member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale, told social media followers that he himself stuck in Preston on Monday while the debate in Parliament was held.

According to the MP on Twitter, two trains from Preston were cancelled on his journey to the capital due to a lack of staff.

But Avanti West Coast, the rail operator, has said that only one train was cancelled at the time and the issues were down to a failed freight train in the West Midlands rather than staff shortages.

He tweeted: "In an ironic but predictable development, I would have liked to have been in Parliament for the Urgent Question on railways this afternoon, but I am still stuck at Preston because Avanti West Coast have now cancelled two trains due to not being able to find enough staff."

Barrow's MP has shared an anecdote of his own ten hour journey to London from Barrow last weekend. 

Simon Fell said: “On Saturday, I endured what was almost a ten hour odyssey across the UK to go from Barrow to London for an engagement, which I then missed.

“It's simply unacceptable.”

Calling on the government to step in and take tough action should Avanti fail to address these issues quickly, Mr Fell asked Transport Minister Kevin Foster MP to confirm that the government would strip the operator of the franchise.

A spokesperson for Avanti West Coast said: “Issues with signalling between London and Watford caused significant disruption to services across our route on Saturday 22 October. In addition, journey times were longer because the line between Rugby and Stafford was closed for planned upgrade work, which meant our trains had to be diverted.

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience our customers faced when travelling with us on Saturday and would like to thank them for their patience and understanding. We encourage anyone whose journey has been affected to claim delay repay compensation.”