National Railcards posted a string of updates to its Twitter account on Tuesday morning, apologising to people who were unable to access its site and saying that demand for the 26-30 railcard had been “unprecedented”.

But many Twitter users observed that the demand should hardly have been unexpected. Recent research by the Resolution Foundation showed that UK millennials have experienced the second-worst reversal in financial fortunes in the developed world, coming second only to Greece. The report highlighted depressed incomes, job scarcity and falling home ownership as major problems – and showed that British people under 30 had experienced a bigger pay squeeze than those in their 50s. In addition, this January saw the biggest rise in train fares in five years.

With this backdrop, it seems hardly surprising that people in their late 20s would be desperate to find a way to save money.

“Unprecedented demand – no s**t,” wrote one Twitter user. “It costs me £137 to see my girlfriend at weekends.”

Twitter user @ulysseklm wrote: “‘Unprecedented’? Shows the total ignorance of National Rail towards the ridiculously high rail ticket prices.”

The launch of the millennial railcard did not go well