AS the Echo's Right Lines campaign to improve the region's railways gathers pace, Joe Willis takes the train to Saltburn to find out what life is like on board a notorious 30-year-old Pacer train.

NEED a lift in life? Take a look at the Northern Rail twitter profile and be happy that it's not your job to manage the account.

Delays, cancellations, angry customers - from 6.30am until 8.30pm, the company patiently provides updates on services and deals with passenger complaints by the train shed load.

Some of the messages are unrepeatable and reprehensible; those from travellers delayed by a woman threatening to jump off a bridge in the Manchester area are particularly unpleasant.

Nobody waiting for the 8.30am from Darlington to Saltburn service to set off appears to have reason to remonstrate with the company just yet.

The 30-year-old Pacer trains used by the company are universally unpopular it seems, but it's not immediately evident why sat on board a stationary carriage. Okay the seats are a little shabby, there's no carpet, no fold down tables, no armrests, no wifi or power points for laptops and mobile phones, and legroom is limited, but the two carriages are clean and there is at least a toilet.

But then the driver starts the engine and you begin to see what the problem is.

Pulling out of the station the diesel engine seems to be struggling to cope. I want to say it's making a kind of groaning "chug, chug" sound, but "chug, chug" doesn't really do it justice. A dirtier "grug, grug" kind of noise fits better.

The first stop is Dinsdale. The station for Middleton St George looks recently renovated. Next it's Teesside Airport, but these days trains only stop twice a week on a Sunday. And even then conductors rarely needed to spring into action with just ten passengers using the station in 2013.

As the train pulls into Allens West, the squeal from the brakes becomes so loud that those passengers in conversation have to raise their voices to a moderate shout to be heard. The sound resembles the metal on metal of worn down brakepads on a Peugeot 309 estate I once had - only much, much louder.

Throughout the journey the train rocks, rolls and shudders so much that you almost expect a seatbelt sign to flash on and a pilot to urge passengers to remain seated because we are experiencing turbulence.

At one point near Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium on the return journey the driver did announce something potentially important, but the noise from the engine reduced his voice to inaudible mutterings.

Back on the route and Eaglescliffe station looks like it needs some TLC. The canopies on the passenger shelters appear filthy, like the cleaner doesn't have a stepladder, and a building which was once perhaps a kiosk selling refreshments now has a sheet of tarpaulin for a roof.

By the time the train stops in Thornaby, the carriages are three-quarters full with a good mix of students, office workers and others.

Among those on board is student Ben Doherty, 16, from Darlington, who is a regular on the service.

Asked for his opinions, he says the trains are "noisy and they often smell".

However, two women in the seat in front of him have nothing but good words to say.

"The trains are always on time and I think they're quite comfortable," says one of the passengers.

At Middlesbrough, the train virtually empties and only a handful of people are left on board heading towards the seaside.

After South Bank, the train passes the Tata steel plant before heading on to Redcar, Longbeck Marske and Saltburn.

No passengers get on or off at a couple of stations which bodes badly for their future with the Government hinting that some services should be cut to free up money for improvements on others.

LET'S be honest. Travelling on the 8.30am Northern service from Darlington to Saltburn is not a ghastly experience. I've made train journeys in India where you share your hard wooden seat with a farmyard animal. The trains go so slow that passengers get out of the carriage while it is still moving, stretch their legs and then reboard and return to their seat.

But the Pacer trains are still not great. They're noisy, bumpy and belong to a different era that the North of England is trying to move on from. The region the region needs and deserves better.

What do you think about local train services? Let us know by commenting below or email joe.willis@nne.co.uk