A COUPLE of months ago I started using the trains between Malton and York on a daily basis to commute to and from work.

Over the past few weeks these services have been frequently late. The usual reasons given are “signalling problems” and “being stuck behind a slow train”, but very often there are no announcements given at the railway stations.

This would have been bad enough 10 years ago when the cost of rail travel was approximately half of what it is now. It currently costs me £40 for a weekly ticket – I dread to think what it will cost in another 10 years, but we have recently been told that prices are to go up again next year.

Add to this the fact that there have been cuts to services – the 5.25pm and 6pm trains from York to Malton no longer run, which means that the 5.40pm service is very crowded with people returning from work.

I have written to First TransPennine, but have been told I am not entitled to any compensation as my journeys were delayed by less than half an hour.

Peter Donnelly, Malton