Frustrated commuters gathered outside Bolton train station on Thursday evening as part of a national day of action to protest against increased rail fares.

The demonstration was organised by campaign group Northern Resist in partnership with the Association of British Commuters and Bring Back British Rail.

The groups are calling for a nationwide fare freeze until services improve and are using the protests to unite passengers around the country frustrated by months of delays and cancellations. Other actions took place outside stations in cities including London, Norwich and Burton-on-Trent.

“Delays are consistent, but short-forms are the real sin. This is when they don’t lay on enough carriages and it’s standing room only. The trains are absolutely rammed – it’s like match-day trains every day,” said Steve Sutton, part of the Northern Resist group.

UK rail fares to rise 2.7% in January Read more

The campaigners are demanding that Northern, or any new operator that takes over if it loses the franchise, “cancel today’s fare increase to reflect the dire service”.

Sutton said trains are often so busy that people faint: “No one should be forced to lose consciousness on their way to work.”

Another protester, Karen Hon, a teacher and local Labour party campaign coordinator, said: “In a lot of the townships, not just Bolton, the industries have gone. People rely on being able to commute to the cities for work.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Karen Hon ( holding signs ) and fellow campaigners from transport pressure group Northern Resist protesting outside Bolton railway station in Greater Manchester Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

She said by using trains, people risk turning up late for work and being sacked, but with buses and cars often delayed on traffic-clogged roads, there are no alternatives. “With our efforts against climate change, we should be encouraging people to use public transport. People aren’t asking for the world – they’re just asking to be able to get to work on time.”

Sammy Ahmed said her journey home to nearby Chorley, which should take 45 minutes, often takes hours. “I just think the way we’re being treated is absolutely awful. We pay over £2,000 a year for our route from Chorley to Manchester, and they take our money up front and then they cancel all our trains.”

She is now refusing to buy a season ticket as she doesn’t want to pay up front for a poor service and is instead choosing to work from home more often.

Sutton stressed how much of an impact the service is having on people’s lives. “There can be weeks on end when a parent doesn’t get that bedtime with the kids, weeks where businesses are missing key staff.”

Northern Resist founder Kate Anstee said: “They implement [the fare increase] in the first week of January, which is when the country is at its poorest – I can’t stress that enough.

“We’ve endured nine years of austerity and it’s the week after Christmas. These fare rises are not justified, and if they are justified, they need to come at a different point in the year.”

She welcomed comments by the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, that he has started a process that could strip Northern rail of its franchise or see it issued with a short-term contract. However, Anstee also said chronic underinvestment needs to be tackled for customers to see real change.

Between 11 October and 8 November last year, less than half of Northern rail trains ran on time and 5.3% of services were cancelled. The operator runs trains across the north of England, including in Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle Upon Tyne.

According to the Northern Fail app, there have been 69,726 full and partial cancellations – 34% due to staff shortages and 22% due to train faults - and 47,325 services with reduced carriages on the Northern network since May 2018.

Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds city council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority transport lead, said: “Higher fares are never a good way to start the year, but rail passengers will find those taking effect this month particularly galling given the ongoing delays and cancellations which are severely disrupting journeys across the North of England.”

She urged the government to introduce greater local control of rail networks, and to make publication of the Williams review into passenger rail services an urgent priority.

A spokesperson for Northern said: “Northern’s average annual fare increase is 2.48%, which means an average weekly season ticket will rise by £1.07 and the average off-peak return by just 25p. These rises, which are below RPI and below the average national increase, will help fund current and future investment in rail services across the north of England.”

They added that Northern was working to provide customers with new and better trains and stations.