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Name: Richard Palethorpe
Age: 34
Occupation: Business solutions consultant
Daily commute: Peterborough - London, King's Cross
Manifesto:
I commute daily from Peterborough to London on GNER. There's three aspects to improving the railways - 1) Long term government investment to improve the infrastructure, 2) short term railway company investment in teaching communication skills to staff (GNER is good at this) and 3) creating an environment where commuters can change their own attitudes - I've met loads of people, myself included, who are using commuting time to study Open University degrees. Getting stressed won't reverse years of under-funding so reframe the problem and look at ways of making the journey of value to the individual as well as the rail company.

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Name: Gillian Sclater
Age: 40
Occupation: Computer consultant
Daily commute: Canterbury - London
Manifesto:
As a daily long-distance and long-suffering commuter I would LOVE the opportunity to be a voice that is actually representative of, hopefully HEARD and AGRESSIVELY acted upon. The malaise that strangles the whole rail system obviously paralyses the train operators themselves (if results are anything to go on), but seems to affect the passengers and staff on the trains as well. I believe that a concerted effort on all these fronts could vastly improve things and that our ghastly rail system could perhaps be, against all odds, on a par with some of the better European train systems!

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Name: Pepe Tozzo
Age: 41
Occupation: Development manager
Daily commute: Basingstoke - Woking
Manifesto:
As your rail champion I could represent many types of train commuter. I own a car but cycle to the railway station from where I travel to work by train every working day. After experiencing one of the busiest train routes for over seven years I have seen poor service at its worst. I believe in the importance of good public transport and have reminded ministers many times that they have failed to make any positive impact whatsoever. Simple changes have a large effect. I can see that so why can't the decision makers? Let me be your voice.

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Name: Adam Edwards
Age: 40
Occupation: Library manager
Daily commute: Hatfield - London, King's Cross
Manifesto:
Commute daily from Hatfield (Herts) so use an unreliable service, hit by two recent tragedies. Run the local commuter group which has a forward looking plan. Four-year-old daughter so particularly familiar with problems caused by lack of lifts and toilets. Subscribe to many rail publications so am up to date on news in the UK and in Europe. Am keen to give the whole picture rather than joining the rest of the media in unbalanced shock horror stories, without being afraid to criticise the railways where deserved.

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Name: Rachel Crookes
Age: 23
Occupation: Publishing assistant
Daily commute: London Fields - London, Liverpool Street
Manifesto:
As both a cross-city commuter and a long distance train traveller, I know about the good and the bad of train travel in the UK. I'm happy to dole out both praise and condemnation when warranted and have given both to train companies in the past. We need a system that is accountable, efficient and manageable. In particular, rail companies need to take responsibility for the smaller train stations and less crowded routes, and pay attention to the black spots on the train map. But if people don't speak up, nothing will get done. It's time to rethink the rails!

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Name: Richard Twyning
Age: 32
Occupation: Software engineer
Daily commute: Mansfield - Nottingham
Manifesto:
I should be your Rail Commuters' Champ, because I commute to work every day via Central Trains on the Robin Hood Line in Nottinghamshire. I write a daily report which I fax to Central Trains and the Midlands Rail Passenger's Committee. I have a personal campaign against Central Trains to improve conditions for their passengers. Besides reliability issues, there are also health issues from the fumes produced by waiting trains, and a large part of my focus is to improve things in this area. The Midlands Rail Passengers' Committee monitor my reports and use them as evidence against Central Trains.

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Name: Adam Warr
Age: 33
Occupation: IT analyst
Daily commute: n/a (lives in Peterborough)
Manifesto:
As a former railway employee I have seen the changes wrought to the system from the sharp end since privatisation. I understand the frustration of today's rail users travelling on an overpriced and often inefficient system. My knowledge and passion for rail travel is boundless and I would be able to offer insightful and accurate comment on news stories, speaking up for the day to day rail user in a cool, concise manner. I would cut through the hysteria and the hype and tell things as they really are.

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Name: Kevin Miller
Age: 39
Occupation: Advertising manager
Line regularly used: NW London - SE London
Manifesto:
To alleviate the strain of train travel we must implement two things: First, reduce the cost of train travel by subsidising fares from government funds. Second, increase frequency of the timetable, making it more accessible during peak and off-peak. These two measures will last for two years. During which, a major rescue plan will be undertaken, to sell-off old rolling stock, clean up stations, make trains safer and run more efficiently and more frequently including overnight services. As with all injuries, first you stop the bleeding, then you start to heal.