Pupils say the train is more overcrowded than the London tube

Schoolchildren are being forced to stand on the two-carriage train and sit in luggage racks on the morning service from Bodmin and St Austell.

Paul Smith, head of Truro School, says pupils regularly arrive late as a result of the train being late and his pupils' studies are suffering.

Wessex Trains said it had no spare train carriages.

Wessex Trains said it does not have any extra carriages

Mr Smith, who has complained to Wessex Trains in the past, said: "Twenty five pupils arrived late this morning.

"The train authorities have been told that the train is not big enough. It's dangerous when they are crammed in and you would have thought that Wessex Trains would be addressing this problem because of the safety issue."

Sixth-former Andrew Sampson, said the train was so overcrowded on Wednesday that the ticket inspector could not pass down the carriages.

That meant pupils who had not had their tickets checked on the train had to wait for them to be checked at Truro, and that meant they missed the connecting school bus.

If there was even a slight collision the consequences would be horrendous Pupil Adam Hadley

Fellow pupil Adam Hadley, who pays �25 a week for his ticket from Bodmin, said: "This morning 10 people were standing at Lostwithiel, at least 70 at Par and more than 100 at St Austell.

"It's worse than the London Underground. Some people were having to sit in the luggage racks. If there was even a slight collision the consequences would be horrendous."

He said that pupils had written to Wessex Trains four weeks ago complaining about the overcrowding, but had received no reply.

Wessex Trains Business Manager Andrew Griffiths said the company had no spare carriages.

"We make the best possible use of every train. There is nothing in the sidings.

"There are about a dozen services where people have to stand and when we get hold of extra railway stock we shall prioritise it to those most in need.

"In the slightly longer term I hope we shall be able to create more space on the train."

He added: "It's not good when people cannot get a seat and we would like everyone to travel in comfort."