Thirty-six-year- old Sarah Mills is squeezed next to me. I ask her if it's often like this and she nods, adding: "All the time. Last week, because there was some bad publicity, they put another two carriages on, but now it's back to normal."

It's also still very much a hidden gem and few people even know it exists.

But Jo Skelton, 26, who commutes from Redland to Bath Spa, said: "Using the train is cheap and quick but it's a shame that the current service is not more accommodating."

These people, you can tell, have heard it all before, "the train's coming ... sorry, the train's not coming... the train's coming but there isn't any room for you...", says Michael, a civil servant who has a talent for mimicking the soothing yet stern, synthesised voice from the speakers. "Never trust the announcements, they just give you false hope," he warns with a smile.