A LOCAL rail firm has come under fire after commuters returning from the Easter break found no trains or replacement busses serving Lancaster station.

First North Western scrapped all services from the city on Tuesday morning as the latest one-day strike took place.

And travellers face further misery as the company plans to scrap all services on Friday and Monday as well - with no bus replacements for services from Lancaster.

Green Coun Cllr Jonathan Sear dubbed the company 'Worst North Western' and claimed the group had failed to inform passengers of its plans.

Coun Cllr Sear said: "Our dispute is not with the unions.

What has annoyed us is the apparent lack of effort on the part of the company's senior management to warn travellers about the disruption or to provide alternative road transport."

He claims that, on Tuesday morning, the most up to date information on the company's website was dated last Thursday, and claimed that talks were ongoing with the drivers' union ASLEF in a bid to avoid strike action.

Coun Cllr Sear added: "The Easter Holiday is no excuse.

I'm sure the bosses of the privatised railway companies are paid enough to put in the hours when some commitment is needed in order to reduce the disruption which will be suffered by thousands of travellers.

"First North Western should get their act together and provide substitute bus services on routes such as Lancaster to Barrow, and Oxenholme to Windermere, just as they do when lines are close for engineering work.

"On the Morecambe line the best solution may be to arrange for holders of rail tickets to be allowed to use Stagecoach buses.

"It is only the train drivers who are on strike, so the company should also be getting their other staff onto station platforms where they can help passengers with alternative travel arrangements."

A First North Western spokesman said the arrangements had been publicised in advance through posters on all stations, national rail enquiries and the local and national media.

He added: "We have handled the striker as best we can but obviously there are lessons to be learned."

First North Western says it is running replacement buses on its 'core routes', and hopes to extend the number of routes it operates if it can secure more buses.