FRUSTRATED commuters are being warned that "chaotic" West Midlands Train services may last until the new year.

People have shared their frustrations with a rise in cancelled trains between Worcester and Birmingham as West Midlands Railway claims a shortage of drivers has caused issues.

The Covid-19 pandemic is being blamed for impacting on the railway service's training programmes which it said it had acelerated to fill the backlog.

But one commuter said the service was not great pre-pandemic and has only got worse.

Tim Joesbury-Clarke, from St John's, commutes for work and said a recent experience left him stranded at Birmingham New Street for hours.

"There were no issues going in from Foregate Street but I finished at around 12.30pm and went to New Street looking forward to getting back home earlier.

"That's when it turned into utter chaos.

"The trains before I'd arrived had already been cancelled so I was going to check if my train was cancelled. I spoke to the information desk and they said sorry there's a shortage of train crew which is causing lots of problems with the trains.

"I asked when I would be able to get back home and I was greeted with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Eventually I managed to find a train in the early evening which was stopping at Shrub Hill but a woman asked how she would get back to Malvern and they said they were not really sure and left her."

The 42-year-old said because of cancellations the trains are often "packed like sardines" with no social distancing and called it a health risk.

"The service wasn't great pre-pandemic but now it is in total chaos.

"It's my daughter's birthday on Friday and I have to go to work but I am already worried I won't be able to get back in time."

He added West Midlands Railway should provide alternative transport for when the trains are cancelled.

"For a lot of people the alternative is going to be getting to work by car but it would be more convenient for me to take the train as well as taking into account the environmental impact."

A West Midlands Railway spokesperson said: “We are sorry for the recent disruption to services between Worcester and Birmingham and the inconvenience this has been causing passengers.

“The disruption is due to a shortage of available drivers and is a direct result of the impact Covid-19 on our training programmes.

"During the pandemic we lost 25,000 training days and have not been able to train our new staff as quickly as normal. We always cover as many services as possible with overtime but unfortunately we will sometimes have no choice but to cancel services.

“We urge anyone whose journey is delayed by 15 minutes or more to claim compensation through our Delay Repay scheme.”