We have all been there. Stuck on the platform waiting for a delayed train, wondering how on earth it can have happened again, and paying handsomely for the privilege.

Some of the challenges with rail services across the country are no great secret, but locally users at Hitchin and Arlesey stations have been more familiar than most with delays and cancellations.

As our MP though it's my job not just to moan about it (much as I do from time to time), but to do something about it. 

So, since I've been elected, I've been regularly taking Ministers, Network Rail, and train operations to task about what we can do to improve things. 

With signal delays having driven a significant number of cancellations over recent years, much of the last 12 months has been spent pressing Network Rail and Ministers to invest in improvements. We are especially vulnerable to these as a lack of any back up capability on the line between Blackfriars and Farringdon means when signals go down, the disruptions caused can be significant.

The other longstanding driver of the poor reliability of our services has been driver numbers. We simply haven't had enough drivers to guarantee a reliable service on the line. Again, this has been a regular topic of conversation with operations and Ministers over the last year. With funding signed off for extra recruitment, we have seen some slow but welcome progress. Extra drivers have come onto our line, helping gradually half our cancellation rates compared to two years ago.

From further work on driver numbers to continuing to bear down on costs, there is more to do. But over the last year we've started to make real progress in, finally, delivering the rail service we all deserve.