A disgruntled commuter is protesting against Southern Railway’s decision to axe hundreds of its services.

Passengers have suffered weeks of uncertainty because of repeated delays and cancellations, caused by a continued shortage of staff at the rail provider and the looming threat of industrial action.

However a new streamlined timetable with 341 fewer services, which parent company Govia Thameslink (GTR) said would be more “resilient”, came into effect today.

It includes the removal of the hourly service between Milton Keynes and West Croydon via the West London Line, taking it through Harrow and Watford.

Regular rail passenger Jack Welby, of Edgware, has now started a campaign to get the service reinstated, and was collecting signatures for a petition outside Harrow and Wealdstone station on Monday afternoon.

“It’s a big blow for public transport users as it’s a popular route,” he said, holding a sign urging Southern to “keep our trains running”.

“A lot of people use it to get to the airport, to Shepherd’s Bush and Wembley. It’s very busy at peak times.”

He has enlisted the aid of Harrow East MP Bob Blackman to fight the decision. Mr Blackman has already written to transport undersecretary Claire Perry MP outlining his concerns.

Mr Welby also claims the service, which usually operates once every two hours on Sundays, was withdrawn a day early as no trains ran yesterday.

However a spokeswoman for GTR said engineering works at the weekend were to blame for the no-show.

The revised timetable only affects weekdays and will continue to operate as usual at the weekend. Full details can be found at www.southernrailway.com/southern/news/southern-revises-timetable-to-reduce-passenger-impact-of-daily-cancellations/

A rush-hour passenger protest against the service reduction is due to take place at Victoria station later today (Monday).