Angry commuters are hitting out at a decision to slash the main morning train from west Cumbria to Carlisle.

Three of the county’s MPs have also written to Northern, as the company looks to implement the changes from September 14.

These would see the 7.42am service from Workington, arriving at Carlisle at 8.32am, being cancelled.

If passengers were to continue to travel to work or school by train for a 9am start, they would either be faced with waiting around for around an hour and a half or be 25 minutes late.

Mark Jenkinson, MP for Workington, is calling for Northern to make a U-turn on the decision, together with Copeland’s MP Trudy Harrison and John Stevenson, Carlisle MP.

Mr Jenkinson said: “I’m very concerned because this doesn’t just affect Carlisle, but all the other stops along the coastline like Maryport and Aspatria.

“Northern are not only failing to take into account the impact on their bottom line, with the best used service being cut, but also the impact it has on people’s lives.

“At a time when we’re building a business case for huge improvements to the coast line, this risks artificially altering the usage figures, forcing people on the roads when we should be going the other way.”

Mr Jenkinson added he was concerned about other effects of the changes, which could impact on the wider economy relying on footfall from commuters and office workers.

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on many parts of society and this includes the railway. We have done all we can to continue to provide the best possible service for customers across the network with our new timetables, but we are still welcoming back members of staff who have been shielding and the knock-on effects of the virus will be felt for many months.

“As we have worked towards reintroducing services and re-instating our driving training programme, we have had to make some very tough decisions about which services we can, and cannot, reliably operate.

“One of these decisions is to remove the 07:35 Whitehaven to Carlisle service which will, in turn, provide the flexibility amongst train crew and trains themselves to protect the reliability of services across the rest of Cumbria and beyond.”

News & Star readers have taken to Facebook to vent their anger at Northern’s stance.

Carol Cremins, who travels daily from Maryport to Carlisle for work to start at 9am, said: “So many people travel to Carlisle for work and now we can’t get her for a 9am start, it's insane.”

Maria Kyles has raised concerns about college students. She said: “It needs to be reinstated. How on earth are 16-year-olds meant to get to Carlisle before 9 am for college? Buses take nearly three hours.”

Clare Stilwell said Northern should change its decision. She added: “Of all the trains to cancel that is the worst one possible.”

Hannah Heron and friend Beth Relph need to be at college in Carlisle for 9am.

Beth said: “What are we actually gonna do for an hour and 20 minutes?”