Under-fire rail company Govia Thameslink will defend its record in front of County Hall bosses.

The operator will present its case at a meeting of Hertfordshire County Council on Wednesday (December 7).

The public meeting follows crisis talks in September in which the company's passenger service director admitted the service was "unacceptable" and apologised to customers.

Derrick Ashley, the cabinet member for transport, said: "Since Govia was awarded the franchise two years ago, passengers have faced delays and cancellations to services that make it impossible to journey plan with any certainty.

"There are tens of thousands of residents of Hertfordshire and other authorities north of London who have endured appalling levels of service, without compensation and unable to plan their journeys with any certainty.

"In September, Govia explained the complexities of the franchise and gave us assurances that we would see improvements in train services.

"We now want to see evidence that these issues have been addressed and we are seeing better services for the benefit of all rail users in Hertfordshire."

The line is plagued by delays and cancellations much to the ire of commuters and other rail passengers.

Following September's meeting the company was called upon to prove the arrival of new drivers and trains would bring improvements, and representatives will present performance data for the next three months.

Hertfordshire County Council's appeal to Govia to make improvements and subsequent letter to the Department for Transport has been backed by seven district councils, including Broxbourne, East Herts and North Hertfordshire.

A spokesman for Great Northern said: "We look forward to meeting with the council to further discuss the service."