Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train services from Bedford to London have not stopped at West Hampstead since 20 May 2018; and what discussions he has had with Govia Thameslink on those services no longer stopping at West Hampstead.

As part of the new timetable, West Hampstead Thameslink is now classified as a metro station and Bedford as a main line station. The metro services that will call at West Hampstead during peak times will start from St Albans and Luton.

A key part of the strategy for the new timetable is to deliver capacity and performance benefits by separating main line and metro services.

The Department for Transport worked with the rail industry to specify the details of this timetable. This was consulted on three times by Govia Thameslink Railway, as the operator of Thameslink services, in one of the largest ever consultations to take place on the railways.