A commuter would get 'one hour of their life back' every day if fast trains between London and a Hertfordshire village returned – but Thameslink isn't breaking even.

Knebworth and Welwyn North lost their fast trains to London in 2020 after the outbreak of Covid-19.

Since then, commuters have had to rely on stopping trains – and a campaigner says the service is getting worse.

The question over whether Knebworth could see its fast trains return was raised at a meeting attended by Patrick Ladbury of Govia Thameslink Railway.

He said the firm – which runs Thameslink and Great Northern trains between London and Knebworth – stands ready to introduce an enhanced timetable, but there is a delay while industry leaders negotiate timetable changes "up north".

"It's an industry-wide issue that is affecting the area," Mr Ladbury said.

"Two years ago, there was a consultation about the timetable on the East Coast Main Line.

"There are a number of train operating companies that fell under the consultation, and there were a number of queries and questions up north that the industry has been trying to resolve to connect their trains with other routes across the country.

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"We are still waiting for the industry to announce what is going to happen with the East Coast timetable.

"The GTR services that we're putting in? We're ready to deliver.

"One of the things in particular in that East Coast timetable was delivering fast services back to Knebworth, but because of the interconnectivity of the East Coast Main Line and the number of train operating companies which use it, we cannot do that in isolation until we have a further update."

Mr Ladbury added that the company's passenger numbers are 72 per cent of what they were pre-pandemic, but are recovering.

"None of our lines break even," he said.

The East Coast Main Line links London King's Cross with Edinburgh Waverley.

Trains on the line through Hertfordshire travel as far south as Brighton and as far north as Inverness – and a fresh timetable would need to take into account connections at the stops in between.

Last year, campaigners launched a Change.org petition calling on Govia Thameslink Railway to reinstate the fast service from Knebworth, which has received more than 840 signatures.

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A commuter behind the "Bring Back the Fast Trains" Twitter account said trains southbound from Knebworth are cramped by the time they reach central London.

They said: "The service has worsened since earlier in the year due to the strikes, but also because changes to the timetable in September and December have withdrawn more services and have slightly increased some journey times.

"Thameslink claims the service is sufficient because the trains have some seats free when they arrive at Knebworth, but the amount of time spent on the train is important too.

"The trains are often packed now that many people have had to return to the office.

"We're not asking for new train services, just an extra stop at Knebworth on a couple of the morning and evening peak services between Stevenage and London would make a huge difference. I would get back an hour of my life per day."