Oliver has welcomed £300 million to make the Thameslink line more reliable as part of his continuing efforts to lobby for service improvements for passengers.

The Department for Transport committed to a multi-million pound package of improvements after Oliver Dowden made the case to the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling in December last year. The Transport Secretary confirmed the money will improve resilience across the network and will contribute towards improving the reliability of areas known to cause delays.

The money will go directly to Network Rail, which is responsible for rail infrastructure, and not to Govia Thameslink.

Oliver said: ‘This is important progress in my ongoing campaign to bring about a better service for passengers between Radlett and Elstree & Borehamwood and London.

‘I travel on the line every day and know the services falls far short of expectation.  Passengers write to me daily to share their experiences of horrendous commutes.

‘I presented over a hundred of these to the Transport Secretary in December last year and he pledged to investigate the causes with Govia Thameslink and Network Rail.

‘I am glad the Transport Secretary recognised that the service has not been good enough and am delighted with this investment to improve reliability on the line – which is of paramount importance to commuters who just want to get to and from work on time.

The investment comes a month after the Transport Secretary announced funding to improve facilities at Elstree & Borehamwood station to make it easier for passengers to get in and out of the station.

Oliver added: ‘I am very pleased to have secured two important funding packages that will make journeys easier for passengers but this does not diminish my ambition and enthusiasm to press Govia Thameslink and Network Rail to make every improvement possible.’

‘Last year I hosted a public meeting for hard-pressed commuters to address their problems directly to those responsible – Govia Thameslink and Network Rail.  I will be holding a second meeting very soon to hear about the progress that has been made.

‘I will be announcing the date in the coming weeks and I encourage all those who use the service to attend.’