First Great Western's new managing director has been told that rail users are fed up with poor services between Yate railway station and Bristol.

Mark Hopwood was told about overcrowded carriages and unreliable trains by Northavon Lib Dem MP Steve Webb in a meeting at Westminster.

Mr Webb has been lobbying the company, as well as the Department for Transport, about train services between Yate, Filton Abbey Wood, Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads.

Passengers are especially angry about a lack of information at Yate when delays occur and the number of trains turning up with too few carriages. At times the carriages are so full people have to sit on the floor.

The company said reliability had improved in recent weeks because of the opening of a new Bristol maintenance depot but has accepted there were still problems with a shortage of carriages.

Mr Webb was told that a small number of new carriages had been allocated to the region and that negotiations were continuing over obtaining a larger allocation.

But it was unlikely any new carriages would be in service for at least two years.

The MP also raised the issue of a possible "turnback" at Yate, which would mean trains would no longer have to go on to Gloucester before heading back to the city centre.

Mr Hopwood told Mr Webb a scheme was being looked at, but Network Rail had not yet included it as one of its priorities over the coming years.

Mr Webb said it was especially worrying that some of the train carriages on the Yate-Bristol line were leased from the Welsh Assembly Government, which could recall them with just three months' notice.

Mr Webb said: "I welcome the improved reliability figures on this route but there is still an awfully long way to go.

"The service needs more carriages and improved frequency, especially at peak hours, and there seems little sign that this is likely to happen for some years to come.

"It is vital that services around Bristol get their fair share of the new carriages on offer and that the idea of a turnback at Yate is progressed rapidly.

"I will be seeking to raise these issues again in Parliament in the coming weeks and will keep up pressure on the Government to address the totally inadequate current arrangements."

Recently, Yate councillors called for a better deal for the town's rail users and criticised the latest fare increases.

A new action group, the Friends of Yate Station, has also been formed to lobby for better facilities. It will have its second meeting on Monday, February 9, at 7.30pm in Poole Court, Yate.

The group said the station would be playing a bigger role in the future as there were many changes planned for the town, including more housing and new council offices, and its facilities had to keep up with increased use.