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First-class compartments will vanish from packed commuter trains after the Government said passengers should no longer be “segregated”.

Chris Grayling, who commutes by train to Whitehall every day, said it was a “total pain” for passengers forced to stand in packed standard-class carriages while first-class compartments lie empty.

He said he was “absolutely” committed to scrapping first class on commuter trains and also expected to see fewer first-class carriages on intercity services over the next few years.

Mr Grayling added he was working towards nationwide “smart ticketing” which will involve paper tickets being replaced by tap-in, tap-out points at every station, with automatic compensation for any journey that is delayed by more than 15 minutes.

The Transport Secretary has also announced a new UK Aviation Strategy that could create airport bag check-ins in town centres and electronic “forcefields” to stop drones being flown near airports.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Mr Grayling also predicted that Theresa May will remain Prime Minister until at least 2020, and could even fight another general election.

Mr Grayling wants train operators to go further than existing efforts to slash the number of first class carriages, and intends to make it a condition of future franchise awards that commuter trains scrap first-class compartments if that is the feedback from passengers.

He said: “I absolutely understand what a total pain it is if you are standing on a train for 20-30 minutes on the way to work. I don’t really see a case for a short-distance journey for there to be any division between first and second class. There should just be one class on the train.

“We have got rid of it on some of the trains in south-east London as part of the new franchise... people will see less first class in the future as we start to say that on busy suburban trains you can’t start segregating.”

He said new hybrid trains that will start running on electrified main line services later this year will have fewer first-class seats than current trains, but it would be up to individual operators on long-distance services to choose whether to provide a first-class option.

Mr Grayling has also promised a crackdown on the illegal use of drones, with jail sentences for the worse of- fenders with compulsory training for those who buy larger models.