PANIC attacks, pregnant women unable to sit and paying customers left on the platform, are among readers’ shocking stories about commuting aboard Bolton’s overcrowded trains.

We asked for your worst experiences while travelling on cramped train carriages and the results will only serve to further calls for rail operators to take urgent action.

‘Hell’ and ‘disgusting’ are among the terms used by our readers to describe the rush hour commute from Bolton to Manchester.

It's now three years since The Bolton News’ launched our Let’s Get Back on Track.

Former Prime Minister, David Cameron, was compelled to act after we delivered a 1,400-strong petition to Downing Street.

But despite the resulting 200 extra seats on morning rush hour services, passengers are still suffering.

Caroline Entwistle, 46, from Bolton is a carer for her six-year-old son, Arlen, who has Down’s Syndrome.

She and Arlen use late morning services to travel to appointments at Manchester Children's Hospital.

She said: “I have no chance of seat, so have to stand in the area near the door. But it’s so crowded that to let people get off, I have to get off with Arlen to make room, then I get barged out of the way by people desperate to get on, so I have to force my way back on with my buggy. It's stressful for me and upsetting for Arlen.

“The conditions in the trains are absolutely disgusting. There is no room, everybody is crammed in. It's like travelling in a cattle truck. I've got a buggy for Arlen. The level of service is completely inadequate.”

“My daughter goes to university in Manchester and travels at peak times most days. It's horrendous for her. She sees arguments, aggression, and passengers have fainted. Yet the train operators raise fares year after year.”

Suneeta Patel, 29, from Smithills, pays £100 for a monthly season ticket between Bolton and Manchester – but that doesn’t guarantee that she will even get on her train.

She said: “Unfortunately I have to commute to Manchester from Bolton every day and it is hell. A £100 monthly ticket doesn't get you on your train as they are that full sometimes.

“Sometimes we have to even stand in darkness as the old pacer trains do not even have lights working on them.

“The usual is cramming into a train carriage. Your arms are pinned to the sides, it's that packed. I am 5ft 1ins, so my face is usually in someone's backpack, or back. There is no such thing as personal space.

“The service is utterly disgusting. In all honesty, they do not seem to care and don’t intend to do anything about it in the interim while they build the new trains they’ve promised.”

Others on Facebook told their own commuting horror stories.

Jill Manning said: “I was 37 weeks pregnant with back and hip pain. No one offered me a seat. I had the baby a few days later. The commuters are so angry with the trains that they turn on each other.”

Adrian Hall said: “My son was trying to get off the train at Horwich. The door jammed and he was taken to Chorley. He got no apology and had to get the train back to Horwich.”

Stephanie Greenhalgh said: “I did almost 22 years of commuting to Manchester. The worst was one morning when the train was so packed that they shouted for people to turn sideways to face each other, so that they could get more on.”

Arriva Rail North — operating under the name ‘Northern’ — took over the former Northern Rail franchise in April, 2016.

They have committed to the removal of the Pacer fleet and the introduction of new carriages to ease congestion.

However, this and electrification following the reconstruction of Farnworth tunnel - which will also allow faster, longer trains to operate - is only expected to be delivered in 2018.

Rail campaigner and MP for Bolton North East, Sir David Crausby, said it was time for rail operators to act now and end the misery for passengers.

He said: “These comments from local commuters show how unacceptable the level of service is on our trains. Panic attacks, people rammed against doors, season ticket holders left on the platform - these are exactly the kind of complaints that fill my inbox on a regular basis and that is why I am fighting for improvements.

“I am often told by the rail operators that we shouldn’t worry, things will be better in just a few years, everyone just has to wait. I’ll believe it when I see it, but I don’t think people should have to put up with this for years.

"I have asked the Government to intervene and provide additional diesel carriages to ease overcrowding and bridge the gap while Northern are preparing new electric trains to take over."

A spokesman for Northern said: “We realise that customers experiencing overcrowding during peak travel times are frustrated and we apologise to anyone who has an unpleasant journey because of this.

“Where possible we seek to add carriages to services we know will be even busier than normal, but the reality is that demand for rail travel has never been higher.

“We always seek to use all carriages at our disposal and deploy all available resources across our network, which encompasses the biggest towns and cities across the north of England.”

The spokesman added: “We recently outlined our commitment to modernise our stations and services across our network.

“We are in the process of refurbishing our trains and phasing out the Pacers, which will be removed by 2019 and replaced by 281 new, purpose-built, carriages.

“Of course, this can’t happen overnight and our trains will be phased in and out of refurbishment in order to ensure minimum impact on our daily services.

“Further changes are on the way, but we ask that our customers bear with us whilst we continue to make the significant improvements to their stations and services, delivering a rail service fit for the 21st Century.”