Northern cancels Cumbrian coast Saturday services due to Covid

Northern has cancelled all trains between Barrow and Carlisle on Saturday

A train firm has cancelled all its services on the Cumbrian Coast line on Saturday because of staff shortages caused by the coronavirus.

Northern previously warned there would be "delays and short notice cancellations" but has now cut all services between Barrow and Carlisle.

The firm said there had been a "significant" rise in Covid cases especially in Barrow and Workington.

A spokesman said services are expected to resume on Sunday.

Northern said a large number of conductors and drivers were either diagnosed with the virus or asked to self-isolate following track and trace notifications.

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: "We were already expecting this weekend to be difficult because of the impact of coronavirus, but the number of staff affected in Cumbria has risen significantly and we've had to take the difficult decision to cancel all services on the Cumbrian Coast line on Saturday.

"This is not a decision we have taken lightly and, in doing so, we've had to balance the demand for services with our realistic ability to provide a reliable and punctual service for our customers.

"At the moment we expect services to return on Sunday, albeit with a risk of short notice cancellations, but our message for Saturday is 'do not travel'."

There were already planned cancellations on Saturday for services between Barrow and Manchester Airport, the firm said, while many Lancaster to Morecambe services will also be removed.

On Sunday, all Dalesrail services, which run from Blackpool to Carlisle via the Settle to Carlisle Railway, will also be cancelled.