Covid: South Western Railway cuts services due to Omicron impact

South Western Railway says staff shortages due to the Omicron Covid variant have led to cuts in service

South Western Railway (SWR) has announced cuts to its services, due to the spread of Omicron leading to staff shortages across the company.

The rail operator said it would be running fewer trains from Monday under a new temporary timetable.

Designed to cater for key workers, school pupils and those unable to work from home, it said the timetable would "sufficiently meet current demand".

SWR added the changes would remain under review.

It advised passengers to check its website for updates which it said would take place towards the end of every week.

The operator said "rigorous planning" had gone into developing the new timetable to "deliver the right level of service for the current situation".

Claire Mann, SWR managing director, said: "The spread of the Omicron variant has had a significant impact on our railway, with fewer people using the train and staff shortages impacting on our ability to consistently deliver the current timetable.

"Having assessed demand and spoken to our industry colleagues, we believe this new timetable is the most effective means of ensuring our customers receive a reliable service, with short-notice cancellations minimised."

Key timetable changes include:

• Waterloo to Exeter services will split at Salisbury

• Waterloo to Weymouth services will split at Bournemouth

• Shepperton branch will reduce to hourly

• Waterloo to Alton will reduce to hourly

• Waterloo to Basingstoke will reduce to hourly

• Last train of each day will be earlier than at present