Train companies will be fined when their services run late under a new government plan.

MP for Hertsmere Oliver Dowden has announced his support for the plans to introduce the new penalty scheme that will fine late running trains.

If a train service is running between five or ten minutes late they will get fined but will be rewarded if they beat targets for running on time.

Mr Dowden said: “Too often my constituents are inconvenienced as a result of train cancellations and delays, particularly those who rely on the Govia Thameslink Service.

“We need a new penalty scheme that better holds train companies to account for the services they run. I was very pleased to hear of the government plans to fine train companies directly.

“This new penalty scheme could make a real difference by creating real incentives for train companies to improve their performance.”

Taxpayer funded Network Rail has the responsibility for operating the train lines and maintaining the tracks. It is the train companies that have the responsibility for running train services. In 2014, Network Rail was hit with a £52 million pound fine for late running services.

It is understood that South West trains will test the new scheme as part of a trial in 2017 and it will be rolled out to other services if successful.

According to Mr Dowden, The industry has been set a target of 92.5 per cent of all trains on time by the end of March 2019 and currently Govia Thameslink only manages 82 per cent.

Roger Perkins, from Govia Thameslink, said: “We are held accountable for delayed trains and We are working hard to improve the punctuality of our services which we admit have not been good enough. We are working closely with Network Rail to improve the service and to improve the rate of no breakdown. We, as a company, are held to account and we are penalised for this.”