ANGRY rail commuters were stranded for the second time this week on a service into Blackpool South that travellers have dubbed a 'Third World' railway.

Passengers travelling on the Colne to Blackpool South service, which is run by First North Western, had to leave the train at Preston station for two mornings in a row this week. On the second occasion the next train -- an hour later -- was also cancelled because its driver couldn't be found!

Some passengers were forced to get trains to Blackpool North and travel from there to their destinations by bus -- at their own expense.

Yesterday (Wednesday Sep 26) passengers on the 7.26am service from Colne were told to leave the train at Preston because of an engine failure. The service was cancelled and passengers -- including two children with learning difficulties who were on their way to school -- were told they had to wait an hour for the next train.

Passengers boarded the train when it arrived only to find that the driver had gone for a rest break and his replacement could not be found. This service was also cancelled.

The same fate had befallen passengers on the same train on Tuesday (Sep 25). "Presumably they must still be looking for that driver," said disgruntled passenger Keith Whittaker.

Mr Whittaker, who commutes from Blackburn to St Annes on the line three days a week, said that he was angered by what he terms "consistently poor service" on the line.

"It's the dustbin line of the First North Western services. The rolling stock is old and it must have one of the worst records for cancellations. Travelling on it is a lottery. If a train arrives and completes its journey it's a bonus.

"And if you go to the customer services department Preston station they just shrug and say they can't do anything," he added.

He also complained that trains on the line are sometimes "hijacked" at Preston to be used for other services, leaving passengers stranded again.

During the Open Golf Championship in July the line was used to shuttle golf fans from Preston to Ansdell, leaving regular users without a service on the rest of the route.

Another passenger agreed: "It's absolutely scandalous. It's consistently a very poor service."

A spokesman for First North Western denied that old stock was used on the line and blamed recent disruptions on driver shortages.

"In terms of reliability over the last week or two some problems have been caused because of a driver shortage which has caused a number of cancellations, or trains to stop short of their destinations."

He said that 100 new drivers were currently being trained and were expected to be working on Blackpool and Manchester services in late autumn.

He added that infrastructure problems compounded difficulties. "We rely on Railtrack to provide a reliable service to us and we are pressing them at very high levels to improve services.

"But the company apologises to customers who have been inconvenienced on the line," he said.

But Mr Whittaker said: "We are treated like cattle. They show a complete disregard for the people who pay their wages and contribute to their profits."