A LACK of toilets on trains in the South East is proving a major problem for commuters, especially those with medical issues.

Wes Atkinson, who lives in Goring, said: “I own a business in Brighton and have to commute, but a lot of the time the trains don’t have toilets or very few and this has been the case for years.”

Mr Atkinson has ulcerative colitis, which is similar to Crohn’s disease as it involves the inflammation of the large intestine and is considered a disability, so he needs to be able to access a toilet if his condition flares up.

He said: “You never know what is going to happen as it can be affected by coffee, food or stress. It’s got to the point where I avoid taking the train now and have to sit in an hour of traffic driving into work or work from home a lot of the time.”

It was revealed in 2010 that some Southern Railway’s expanded fleet would not have toilets on board, and Mr Atkinson condemned the lack of progress since then.

“There are a lot of notices which have been put up since 2010, and they say that they will stop the train if you need to use the toilet. But there are rarely any guards on board.”

The full service travels from Brighton to Portsmouth and takes almost an hour-and-a-half.

Roger Perkins, media relations manager for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), said: “We have every sympathy with this passenger. These trains were introduced before GTR took over Southern, to reduce overcrowding on the busy south coast route and the class of train you are referring to, which does not have a toilet, can only be operated with a conductor on board to dispatch the train so there is always one present, otherwise it has to be cancelled.”