Oliver convened a meeting to challenge Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) on their Thameslink and Great Northern services running through his Hertsmere constituency. Potters Bar, Elstree and Borehamwood and Radlett have all been experiencing a reduced service through their stations since the start of the pandemic.

Oliver said: ‘Numerous residents have been in touch with me to express their anger and frustration about the standard of service which GTR are providing to our local railway stations at the moment. In particular residents are experiencing overcrowding and infrequent trains, leading to large levels of disruption.

I fully understand and share the frustrations of residents and I raised these concerns with GTR in both December and the start of February.

Following this, I convened an urgent meeting last week to further press GTR on their plans to increase the services. I will also be raising GTR services with the Transport Secretary to make clear the challenges which Hertsmere residents are facing with its rail services.

I am pleased that from today, Monday 7 March, additional peak services are planned to run through Potters Bar, taking the service to 6 trains per hour in the morning and evening peak for Potters Bar passengers.

I have also been informed by GTR that additional services will be added in the coming weeks to the Thameslink peak service for Radlett and Elstree and Borehamwood passengers.

I will be following this extremely closely and will continue to hold GTR to account, ensuring they provide a regular service for my constituents.’

For further information about GTR services, please visit: https://gtrailway.com/.