Train cancellations on the main railway line running through mid Wales are "unacceptable", a pressure group has said.

The Shrewsbury Aberystwyth Rail Liaison Committee has raised a string of grievances over the performance of the Cambrian line, which runs through Welshpool, Newtown and Machynlleth and is the main rail commuter route through Montgomeryshire.

In a meeting held on November 12, the committee identified numerous issues with the service, and has now issued a statement raising these complaints.

The specific problems were raised by both committee members and users of the railways, as well as the Welshpool Rail Users Facebook page and daily live train updates.

One of the issues listed is that of communication, which according to the committee’s press release has “deteriorated in the past few months with announcements poor or non-existent”.

The committee also cites train times and the number of train cancellations as “unacceptable”. On some days, the group says, "most if not all trains out of Shrewsbury" have been late, and on the day of the meeting 12 of 14 trains coming from the Shropshire town during the late morning were reportedly late.

The group says the standard of the service is also driving some people to change jobs, and insists there is evidence of a link between the trains and local residents “finding other jobs as they are not able to get to work on time”.

In addition to these complaints, the committee raised several other issues regarding the running and operation of trains on the Cambrian line. This included inadequate number of carriages, overcrowding, problems with bus replacement services in Welshpool and poor enforcement of mask mandates on trains.

The group's statement added: “The chair expressed the view to the meeting that this is the worst service he can remember on the Cambrian lines."

The matters have been raised to the Welsh Government and Transport for Wales.

A spokesperson for Transport for Wales said: “We value the feedback of groups such as the Shrewsbury Aberystwyth Rail Liaison Committee. Our senior staff met with members of the committee earlier this year and we take the concerns they have raised very seriously.

“Transport for Wales is committed to improving passenger journeys and are investing £800 million on brand new trains, the first of which are built and being tested ready to be introduced next year. We are also making multi-million-pound investments in station upgrades across the Wales and Borders network.”