Oliver on Wednesday met with the Transport Secretary, the Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP to raise his serious concerns over the proposed rail freight terminal near Radlett.

Oliver continues to work with Anne Main to expose the flaws in the wider plans for the rail freight terminal. He has already tabled numerous questions in Parliament and pushed for more answers from both the terminal developers and rail executives. This meeting came following a response from Network Rail to those probes, setting out in more detail the impact of a new terminal on the Midlands Main Line.

Speaking after the meeting, Olbsaid: ‘I am continuing to work with Anne Main MP to fight the proposed rail freight terminal near Radlett. Following on from analysis we have received from Network Rail, I like Mrs Main remain very sceptical whether they and the developers have properly taken into account the real scale of the impact of the terminal on the line’s current schedule.

‘I raised this directly with the Transport Secretary yesterday who has undertaken to investigate personally whether adequate planning has been done.’

The Midlands Main Line is the primary route used by commuters heading from Borehamwood, Radlett and St Albans into London on Thameslink.

Oliver added: ‘I know that commuters in Hertsmere remain deeply frustrated with the poor level of service offered by Govia Thameslink. Alongside my other longstanding concerns about the terrible impact of a new terminal on the roads and countryside of the area, I fear any new freight traffic on the line will only make the Thameslink service worse.

‘That’s why I’ll be continuing my fight and alongside Mrs Main I look forward to meeting directly with National Rail executives to discuss this further next week.’