The complaints reached a peak after a series of disruptions, including a landslide, over the past few weeks.

Unhappy passenger: "We were herded on like cattle"

One man said the express train from Belfast to Bangor was delayed on Tuesday night causing major problems.

"Everybody was just herded onto it like cattle. From the safety point of view there was too many people on that train."

A female passenger said that on the same evening she was unable to get on her regular train.

"The train I would have preferred to have travelled on was much too packed.

"I had to take a slightly later train. It was slower, but there was just no way I was going to get on the original train."

Alan Walker: Consumers feel they pay too much for an inadequate service

Alan Walker from the General Consumer Council travelled on the route on Wednesday morning to talk to passengers directly.

"They want a fast, frequent and affordable service and they are not getting that at present.

"They are saying that everyday they are faced with on-going problems yet they are continuing to pay a high rate, and the service is just not good enough."

"Overcrowding is a problem on our trains, but what people were saying was, the delays are an even bigger problem."

Mal McGreevy: Underfunding is the main problem facing NIR

Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) spokesman Mal McGreevy acknowledged there had been a spate of difficulties on the Bangor line within the last few weeks.

He said some of the problems had been due to weather conditions and others were caused by the age of the trains and carriages, which badly needed replaced.

Mr McGreevy said they had been lobbying for additional funding to buy new trains.

"Within Northern Ireland the funding per head of population over the last six to seven years is approximately one-eighth of the equivalent level of privately owned railway operations in Great Britain. That is a very significant factor."

Mr Walker said the consumer group accepted there were funding problems but he insisted that some deficiencies in the current service could be tackled by NIR.