A Rail watchdog has been so inundated with complaints from passengers that it can no longer cope.

Now the Rail Users Consultative Committee for Western England, which includes Oxfordshire, has been forced to reduce its opening hours to give its three staff a chance to catch up with a massive backlog of complaints.

The committee was set up five years ago to monitor rail services and be a "voice" for passengers.

But since privatisation of the rail industry in 1994, the number of complaints it receives has trebled.

Calls to its hot-line were at an all-time high last year and rocketed by another 50 per cent in the first half of this year. The watchdog's hot-line will now only be manned after 1pm. Any passengers calling before then will hear an answerphone message.

Committee chairman Kevin Small said: "I very much regret this reduction in the quality of the service we are providing, but I see no alternative if our staff are to catch up with the mounting backlog of complaints."

The committee says a rise in complaints is "almost always" linked to a declining quality of rail services, including late trains.

It says passengers often find customer service help-lines run by train companies slow and superficial, increasing the burden on the watchdog's phone lines. Mr Small added: "The decision is seen as a temporary one, which will be reversed if there is a fall in the number of complaints or more resources are provided to enable us to deal with the increased workload."

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