Fred Marsh, of Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire, has been employed over the past eight years by most train operating companies and Network Rail.

He has told The Cornishman: "This train is a commuter train from Plymouth in the morning, and the people of Cornwall and Devon must protest strongly because if the Department for Transport does manage to do away with this train, others will also go.

He claims that there are members of the DfT who consider that the Plymouth-Penzance line should be a connecting branch line with no through London trains.

And he adds: "Other members of the DfT would close all railway lines west of Plymouth."

"Wessex Trains is far too top heavy on management, yet all this management seems unwilling or unable to solve a simple problem" - Fred Marsh

Mr Marsh, who is urging as many people as possible to sign the on-line petition at www.saveoursleeper.com says:

"I wonder how many people realise that through the inefficiency of the way the railway was privatised, the railway receives three times the government support it did before privatisation. Indeed, I regularly find whilst working for Network Rail, my work has already been done by consultants working for the Training Operating Company - be that C2C, First, GNER, Virgin, Wessex or any other train operating company, and, of course, vice-versa when I'm employed by the TOC."

He goes on: "However, I do find that Wessex Trains is far too top heavy on management, yet all this management seems unwilling or unable to solve a simple problem.

"Recently, the 7.20am Plymouth to Penzance Wessex train service has been overcrowded between Bodmin and Truro with would-be passengers left behind at St Austell.

"Let me make it clear, a crowded train is not deemed unsafe by the Railway Inspectorate on three counts -
* A safety zone is created in front and behind a train by the signalling system
* A crowded platform poses more danger to the public than a crowded train
* Less injuries occur on a crowded train in a minor collision than a half empty train.

"However, the TOC should take steps to increase train lengths by adding more carriages when services run seriously overfull as in the case of this 7.20am recently. Wessex Trains employ a two-car class 158 unit on this train but they have three-car, 158 trains on the Bristol-Portsmouth line.

" It doesn't take a genius to realise all is needed is a unit swap."