A RAIL chief has apologised to passengers after a major survey showed they are fed up with late services, expensive tickets and dirty trains.

One in five passengers using Northern Rail’s Lancashire routes – which connect Clitheroe to Manchester and Preston to Blackburn, Burnley and Colne – is currently dissatisfied with the service.

The people who travel by train every day, however, are even less impressed with just 65 per cent of commuters happy.

And fewer than a third are content with the way the company deals with delays, with almost two per cent of all journeys either cancelled or significantly late.

The survey of 1,414 rail travellers by Transport Focus (formerly Passenger Focus) also showed just over half reckoned their service offered good value for money.

Michael Roberts, director general of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, said: “Too often many passengers are not getting the service they deserve, and for this we are sorry.

“More than almost anything else passengers want trains to be reliable and run on time.

“The survey reflects the challenges we face to run trains punctually on an increasingly busy network.”

Passengers are already facing a summer using bus replacement services as a key line is closed for nearly six weeks as £14million improvement work is carried out.

Network Rail is installing an additional track on the Clitheroe to Manchester line, one mile either side of Darwen Station.

The project will mean that no services will run between Blackburn and Bolton from July 17 until August 24, affecting stops at Hall i’ th’ Wood, Bromley Cross and Darwen.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT union, said: “These figures show that passengers paying extortionate commuter fares are receiving some of the lousiest services.

“The private train companies are laughing all the way to the bank.”