Chris Grayling has been left red-faced after he launched a flagship new railway route from London to Bristol, only for the train to face severe delays, overcrowding and the air conditioning leaking onto passengers.

Former Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron commented:

“Chris Grayling promised this would be a fantastic new service, instead it ended up going badly off the rails.

“At least he got a first-hand experience of what many rail passengers have to put up with every day: overcrowded, delayed and unreliable trains.

“This whole sorry episode sums up the government’s failing transport strategy.

“Ministers need to step up investment in the railway network across the UK, instead of posing for photo ops that go embarrassingly wrong.”