BRITAIN’S transport secretary has received heavy criticism from two Bolton MPs after releasing a letter making “excuses” for the recent problems with trains.

Chris Grayling said the rail industry has “failed the passengers it serves” after months of delays and cancellations reached a head when a new timetable was introduced last week.

The letter, sent to all Greater Manchester MPs, said the problems were down to a “combination of delayed Network Rail infrastructure works and reduced planning time”.

He claimed that problems had stemmed from delays to electrification between Bolton and Preston, which stopped operators introducing new electric trains.

Mr Grayling wrote: “We will be holding a meeting for affected colleagues as soon as the recess is over, when I hope we will be able to give you more encouraging news about the recovery effort.

“I have also asked both Northern and Network Rail to organise a briefing meeting for MPs next week so they can explain the detail of what has gone wrong and how it is being solved.”

The correspondence was slammed by Bolton North East MP Sir David Crausby, who said: “I’ve received a letter from Chris Grayling.

“More vague promises of a better train service months or years from now, with no attempt to hold Northern to account for failures, and determined to blame all the problems on the new timetable.”

His views were echoed by Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi, who posted the letter on her Twitter.

She said: “All Greater Manchester MPs have received a round-robin letter from the Transport Secretary, making excuses but offering no solutions for years of Northern Rail failures.

“David Crausby is holding a debate in Parliament on June 6 to try to shame the government into taking action.”

Officials from the Department for Transport and Transport for the North last week agreed an ‘action plan’ to improve the situation.

However, commuters say the number of delays and cancellations have not reduced.

One passenger, who travels into Bolton station every day, said: “The shambles of last week has definitely not gone away. In fact, it seems to have got worse.

“Trains are always delayed and we are constantly being told they’re short of drivers.”