COMMUTERS claim their morning journeys have been put off track because of a new train timetable.

Some peak-time morning services between Bolton and Chorley have been cut by half - from half-hourly to hourly - in a shake-up of First North Western's autumn schedule which was introduced on Monday.

Not only are the trains less frequent, but the express services will cut out stops including Blackrod and Adlington. Some users have to catch an earlier train or wait 45 minutes for a later one.

Michael Jackson, an accountant at Chorley Council, lives in Church Street, Adlington, and has been travelling on the 8.26am train to Chorley for 15 years.

He said: "The proximity of my house to the station was part of my reason for moving here.

"Now my usual train is 45 minutes later and I will have to rearrange my day around the trains. Fortunately I work flexi-time, but people with fixed office hours could have problems arriving too early or too late.

"There have always been about a dozen people catching that train with me from Adlington, so potentially that's 12 more people taking to the roads every morning - and that's just from this station."

Mike Murray, vice-chairman of the Blackrod Residents Association, said: "We barely have enough trains here as it is, so this will cause even more of an inconvenience to local residents."

Denise Lomax, commercial director at First North Western, said: "Changes have been incorporated into the new timetables and some regular services have been retimed. As there are differences, we are keen that passengers understand them before they start their journeys."

Morning services from Bolton to Chorley are calling at Blackrod at 8.03am and 9.06am and at Adlington at 8.07am and 9.10am. For timetable details, call 0845 600 1159 or visit www.firstnorthwestern.co.uk.