Rail operator Southern could be stripped of its franchise if it fails to improve as MPs meet company bosses today to discuss its “absolutely appalling” service.

About 20 MPs are expected to call on the firm to employ more drivers and use more carriages at the meeting, convened by Rail Minister Claire Perry.

They are also expected to discuss the need for Network Rail to invest more money in tracks and signals to prevent breakdowns.

Last week rail bosses were given three months to improve services or risk pressure from politicians for the Government to take over management.

Sutton and Cheam MP Paul Scully regularly takes to Twitter to scold the service and this year has started a diary to show how frequently he has problems with the service.

He said: “The one thing I knew I was not going to enjoy as a new MP was the return to commuting.

“Southern have absolutely proved me right, their performance has been hugely below par over the last year and people are paying a lot of money for a pretty terrible service – something has got to give.

“I would want to fix it through the franchise system rather than some sort of asset grab.”

According to Croydon South MP Chris Philp only 78 per cent of Southern’s trains arrive at their final destination on time, which he says makes it the worst in the country.

He added: “Southern Railway’s service is absolutely appalling and it has got worse recently.

“If they don’t improve their services by May then I am prepared to call for them to lose the franchise completely.”

Carshalton and Wallington MP Tom Brake conducted a survey this month on resident satisfaction with rail services as part of his campaign to improve transport links in Sutton.

Of the 350 responses 77 per cent said their biggest issue was reliability, followed by frequency at 57 per cent and cost of fares at 49 per cent.

He said: “I think we would get better integrated services if Transport for London also took responsibility for the suburban commuter trains.

“The survey was to give something to Thameslink and Southern that was not merely anecdotal but was based on a substantial body of responses that confirm reliability is a number one priority for passengers and that they would be more confident if TfL ran the services.”

A spokesman for Southern said: “We know our performance is not good and we apologise to our passengers for this.

“While work on London Bridge and the surrounding track as part of the Thameslink programme is going on, we have lost one of the four routes into the station and we have had to divert many of our trains into Victoria.

“This has seen a greater impact on performance than anybody anticipated.”