AN MP has said trains are disappearing from timetables at such a rate it feels like living in the Bermuda Triangle.

It comes after Transport Secretary Chris Grayling wrote a letter to northern MPs about chaos on the Great Northern line, which is also run by Govia Thameslink.

The letter says the “industry has failed passengers” and lays the blames at almost every door but his own and barely mentions the problems on Govia’s Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services, which have also suffered disruptions.

Peter Kyle, MP for Hove, said: “So many trains are disappearing from the timetable you’d think we were living in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle.

“Has Mr Grayling not noticed these problems with Thameslink? How does he think people are getting to work?”

On Wednesday the Transport Secretary said the rail industry had “collectively failed” passengers after timetable changes caused chaos across the network.

Chris Grayling wrote to MPs to describe the the “wholly unsatisfactory” service on Govia Thameslink Railway and Northern.

GTR said it expected disruption to ease “over the coming month” and Northern said it has commissioned a report to “ensure lessons are learned”.

Mr Grayling said: “The way timetabling is done has to change.”

He also criticised Network Rail, saying it “cannot cope” with the workload and its performance was “simply unacceptable”.

He added: “We were aware there might be some disruption in the early stages of any new timetable change but the scale of the problem has far outstripped any expectation.”

He said he was now in “regular contact” with Network Rail and rail companies to deal with the issues quickly.

The changes were introduced on May 20, with every one of more than 3,000 train times changing, affecting an estimated half a million commuters.

Charles Horton, CEO of GTR, said: “We always said that delivering the biggest timetable change in generations would be challenging – but we are sorry that we have not been able to deliver the service that passengers expect.

“Delayed approval of the timetable led to an unexpected need to substantially adjust our plans and resources in an unexpectedly short timeframe.

“We fully understand that passengers want more certainty and are working very hard to bring greater consistency to the timetable as soon as possible.

“We will also be working with industry colleagues to establish a timetable that will progressively deliver improvement.”

If you have been affected by the rail timetable changes – or delays or cancellations – please email news@theargus.co.uk.