AN MP HAS called for action after hearing that “despairing” constituents have been forced to withstand cramped conditions on trains due to overcrowded services at Severn Tunnel Junction.

Newport East MP Jessica Morden has urged transport secretary Chis Grayling to “immediately” address the lack of carriages on offer by Great Western Railway for commuters between Rogiet and Bristol.

In an open letter to the minister, the Labour politician said that Severnside commuters bound for Bristol are “suffering from a chronic lack of capacity as demand grows”.

“I have heard accounts from constituents who due to disabilities and mental health problems avoid the busiest services and yet still have to stand and lean against the train doors,” the letter reads.

“And from commuters who have found the journey so uncomfortable and unsafe that they have had to get off the train mid-journey to get a different train.

“It is simply unacceptable that people are being left behind at the station, or forced to stand in uncomfortable and cramped conditions, and that this is becoming an accepted norm.”

Ms Morden says that research by the Severn Tunnel Action Group (STAG) shows that 61 per cent of passengers who travel from Severn Tunnel Junction are Bristol-bound.

On 10 out of 20 commuting days in October 2017, there were fewer carriages and standing room only for passengers on the 7.54am GWR service to Bristol Temple Meads from Severn Tunnel Junction.

Those returning from Temple Meads to Severn Tunnel Junction on the 5.20pm service in the same month showed there were less than three carriages provided on eight out of 21 days.

In the letter sent out this month, Ms Morden also criticised the UK government restricting the new operator of the Wales and Border franchise from bidding for increased services to Bristol from south Wales.

The response comes after she raised the issue during a parliamentary debate on rail transport on November 29, when Mr Grayling announced a consultation into the Great Western franchise.

“There was little mention of Wales in the Secretary of State’s letter on the consultation, yet key services run through my constituency,” Ms Morden said.

“Can (Mr Grayling) tell my constituents when they will see real action and improvement?”

The minister, in reply, said: “Much of the responsibility for local services lies with the Welsh Government, and I am looking forward to seeing the outcome of their work in delivering new trains and better services as part of the new franchise.

“As for what we are doing in her constituency, there is the electrification programme into Paddington and the investment in the intercity express trains, but I am expecting and hoping for a significant increase in services from Cardiff eastwards as part of the Wales and the borders franchise.

“I am hoping for a significant enhancement, as part of that franchise, to the connections from Cardiff to Newport and Bristol.”