POLITICIANS have failed to make transport an election issue despite continued chaos on Britain’s privatised railways, labour movement campaigners blasted yesterday.

Labour London mayoral hopeful and transport journalist Christian Wolmar called for Ed Miliband to “bite the bullet” and slash the Tories’ “crazy” roads programme.

Train drivers’ union Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan called for workers to vote Labour to secure greater public control over the railways.

In London, commuters faced huge delays yesterday and scores of cancellations due to signal failures.

Passengers were left packed like sardines inside Waterloo station and some were forced to stand in train toilets.

But rail union RMT leader Mr Cash said that transport had been “shockingly” absent from the campaign agenda despite of thousands of voters being affected by the disruption.

“It’s about time the political class climbed out of their little bubble and faced up to what’s going on in the real world,” he stormed.

And Mr Wolmar, who hopes to gain Labour’s London mayoral nomination, said that candidates had failed to scrutinise contentious capital projects such as George Osborne’s road-building scheme and HS2.

“Politicians loathe to go there,” he told the Star. “The three main parties are in a consensus about HS2, but in the interests of democracy we should be discussing it more.”

Mr Wolmar praised Labour for its commitment to review what the party describes as the “failed franchising model” on the railways and said he was encouraged by shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher’s “tougher rhetoric” on the issue in the past few months.

“I would like to see them bite the bullet and say that this crazy roads programme is ripe for cutting,” he said.

Mr Whelan said: “We’re disappointed that a commitment to public ownership is not in the Labour manifesto and that transport has not featured more during the campaign.

“But we believe 100 per cent in the election of a Labour government today, because we know that will be better for Britain and our industry over the next five years.”