A railway company has agreed to abolish first class seats after a letter was sent to the Secretary of State for Transport by MPs.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has agreed to the proposal and will scrap first class seats during peak times to make more room for passengers.

Chislehurst MP Bob Neill said declassifying first class seating “won't address the severe disruption lots of us continue to experience travelling on the network, but given the severe overcrowding we have seen on many services, it's nonsensical to keep this in place”.

A spokesman for GTR told News Shopper: “From today (June 29) first class will be declassified on all Thameslink and Great Northern services during peak journey times to create more space for passengers.

“This will continue until the interim timetable is implemented on 15 July which will prioritise peak hours services and reduce service gaps.

"We appreciate that customers may already hold a Thameslink or Great Northern first class season ticket and they will be able to claim the difference in cost for journeys made where first class was declassified. More information will be provided on our websites shortly."

Southern has decided to declassify first class on its trains.

A spokesman said: "First class is not in operation in any of our metro services. These are the stopping services that do not go through Redhill Oxted."