The petition to stop train services in the south east being cut has reached over 15,000 signatures in under a week.

Proposals published last week would see services on Bexleyheath, Dartford and Greenwich lines only stop at Cannon Street.

DfT said in a report that the additional lines offered by South Eastern create a complex network.

The report said: “While this increases direct journey opportunities for passengers, it also introduces operational complexity, requiring trains to cross complex and busy junctions.

“This is a major contributor to delays, and makes it much harder to recover the service when things go wrong.”

The petition calling for the proposals to be scrapped has gained thousands of signatures in week.

The petition reads: “Chris Grayling has today released a document aimed at making the lives of the people of Dartford, Bexleyheath, Eltham, Blackheath and the surrounding areas a misery.

“He wrongly diagnoses all South Eastern train problems to be the fault of the above mentioned stations.”

The proposal is part of a consultation and members of the public are invited to respond.

The report continues to say: “A simpler service can help deliver a step-change improvement in the punctuality of both Metro and Mainline services.”

David Evennett, MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford has criticised the proposals for "letting constituents down".

He said: “I strongly oppose the suggestion to reduce the number of terminals that can be reached from Bexley, and believe the services to Charing Cross and Victoria are essential.”

A consultation on the future of south eastern trains is open until May 23.

To respond to the consultation visit the Department for Transport website, and to view the petition click here.

MORE: Local MPs slam proposals for Southeastern trains to stop calling at several central London stations​