Regular rail-users will be raising their eyebrows in despair at the latest crisis to hit the train timetables.

Local operator Arriva, already well out of favour with passengers over ongoing delays and staffing problems, has fresh problems to deal with.

Since the beginning of industrial action led by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union in February, the train operator says absenteeism among conductors due to sickness has increased by 100 per cent.

This is leaving services without staff and subsequently trains are being cancelled. It is even being reported that some services are being cancelled part-way through their journeys as conductors finish their shifts and the trains are unable to go any further without them.

The RMT says it is not surprised at the rising level of sickness, blaming the situation on "bully boy tactics" by the company.

As relations between staff and bosses deteriorate once again, it is the passengers who are left to bear the brunt of the problems as usual.

Arriva is not allowing conductors, who are fighting for terms equivalent to drivers, to work overtime so they can make up hours lost in strike actions.

The Rail Passengers' Committee says that if the overtime ban was lifted then there would not be staffing problems when workers called in sick.

Accusations and counter-accusations are being despatched left, right and centre by all the parties involved in the squabble - which is more than can be said for the trains so many of us rely on every single day.

The message from the platforms is simple: sort out this mess, because it isn't just the staff who are sick of the whole situation.