Govia Thameslink Railway cuts trains to cope with impact of Covid

There were blank display screens at Victoria railway station in central London, as passengers were hit by disruption on the first working day of the year

A number of trains into London have been cancelled by the UK's largest train operator to cope with the impact of Covid on staffing.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) said it would run a reduced timetable to help ensure a more reliable service and fewer last-minute cancellations.

Thameslink, Great Northern and Southern services are affected.

The rail company said the reduced timetables would run "until further notice".

The Southern service between Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction has been suspended.

Govia Thameslink Railway services have been cut back due to the impact of Covid on staff and less demand

Great Northern trains between Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage and Moorgate have been reduced to two per hour on each branch line.

Thameslink services from Cambridge and Royston into King's Cross are also affected as are services from Luton and St Albans into London.

Angie Doll, spokeswoman GTR, said: "Due to the significant challenges we face with Covid now affecting many of our colleagues, we have taken the decision to operate a reduced train timetable from January.

"We're really sorry if this does affect your journey."

The train company also said with more people asked to work from home again, it meant the firm could be "focused on providing a service that passengers can rely on if they need to travel".

Passengers have been advised to refer to the operator's websites for the latest information about services operating between 4 and 7 January.

Information for trains running from 10 January would be added later in the week, GTR said.

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents UK railway companies, said almost one in 10 rail workers were off work due to the pandemic.