NEW timetables have been blamed for overcrowding on a commuter train from Huddersfield to Leeds.

Netherton man John Kent, who has commuted from Huddersfield to Leeds for the past 14 years, branded the timetable introduced this week as the worst ever.

Problems yesterday began when the 6.37am TransPennine Express from Huddersfield to Leeds was cancelled because the driver was taken ill at Manchester.

The following express train was running 20 minutes late, so many commuters crowded on to the two-carriage 7.02am stopping train.

That meant passengers at stations between Huddersfield and Leeds were unable to get on.

Mr Kent said passengers at Batley were left without a train until 8.15am - a wait of one-and-a-quarter hours.

Mr Kent said TransPennine Express operator First/Keolis had axed the 6.16am and 6.57am express trains under the previous timetable and replaced it with the 6.37am service.

He claimed First/Keolis had "thinned out" early morning trains to spread services more evenly during the day.

But he said: "The number of commuters early in the morning has been growing."

A spokesman for First/Keolis denied the company had cut the number of commuter trains.

He said train times had altered, but added: "Before the timetable change, there were six trains travelling from Huddersfield to Leeds before 9am. Now there are seven."

He apologised for the cancellation of the 6.37am train, saying: "The driver was taken ill and we were not able to get a driver to stand in for him."

But the spokesman said: "We would argue that we have tried to improve the service with the new timetable."