TRAIN fares are once again set to increase in January yet the service provided for customers never seems to improve.

As shown by our story today on city resident Jo Martyr, who commutes between Worcester and Birmingham for work and often finds the trains so overcrowded that they are 'unbearable', many passengers feel ripped off by the rail companies.

Mrs Martyr points out that, despite promises of major improvements, West Midlands Railway has been using smaller and older carriages on the Worcester to Birmingham service, because the bigger and newer ones are needed elsewhere.

How is that fair on the passengers going between the two cities who, as paying customers, should expect better conditions than those akin to hens on a battery farm?

West Midlands Railway has promised that better services with bigger and newer carriages are on the way for Worcester but I'll believe that when they finally arrive. Call me cynical, but I just expect the usual delays and cancellations when it comes to vows from train companies.