RAIL users lambasted transport chiefs for reducing their service during the Christmas rush.

Frequency on the Barking to Gospel Oak Overground line dropped from four to three trains an hour at peak times. Operator TfL said they took trains out of service because works on the North London line forced them to reroute freight trains on to the Barking line. Normal service resumed this week.

But Richard Pout, secretary of the Barking to Gospel Oak line user group, said: “It’s been very overcrowded. Obviously it’s been very busy before Christmas.”