The MP for Hitchin has secured a meeting with the Transport Secretary to discuss "the shocking state of Thameslink services".

In the House of Commons this week, Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, secured a meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh.

Mr Strathern rose during a session on rail performance to highlight the poor reliability of local rail services, with delays and cancellations an all-too-common feature for his constituents when commuting.

In his meeting with Ms Haigh, he said he will be asking how the Department for Transport can push Thameslink to provide improvements in the reliability of services to Hitchin and Arlesey services. 

Mr Strathern said: "Commuters at Arlesey and Hitchin stations in my constituency are driven to despair by the shocking state of Thameslink services, with delays and cancellations an all-too-frequent feature of everyday commutes. 

"Thameslink must do right for their customers and reduce disruption.

"I look forward to meeting with the Transport Secretary to discuss how we make progress on this, and how we ensure a smooth transition into public ownership for Thameslink."

A spokesperson for Govia Thameslink Railway said: "We were glad to meet with Mr Strathern in September to discuss the measures we’re introducing to improve performance for customers in the Hitchin area.

"These include adding further resilience to Thameslink and Great Northern services with the recruitment of new drivers, and new peak time trains during the week as part of our winter timetable change, which will take effect from December 16.

"These extra trains will make the commute into London quicker and provide much-needed space on this busy route.

"Our customers rightly expect the highest level of performance from us, and whilst some factors are out of our control, we hope the measures outlined above will help to alleviate concerns."