South Western Railway will be introducing a new temporary timetable due to Covid, and these are the services impacted. 

In the face of Omicron, a highly transmissive Covid variant that is continuing to spread, SWR announced timetable changes to ensure 'a reliable service' for customers and cater to key workers, school pupils and those who cannot work from home.

Recently SWR staff shortages, exacerbated by sickness or Covid isolation, has lead to sudden train cancellations and the providers hope to minimise this through the new measures. 

The temporary timetable changes will remain under review, and journey planners will be updated on a week-by-week basis with SWR urging customers to check updates as close to their time of travel as possible.

Here are the changes that have been announced so far:

  • The Waterloo to Exeter services will split at Salisbury

  • The Waterloo to Weymouth services will split at Bournemouth

  • The Shepperton branch will reduce to hourly

  • Waterloo to Alton will reduce to hourly

  • Waterloo to Basingstoke will reduce to hourly

  • The last train of each day will be earlier than at present 

SWR’s Managing Director Claire Mann commented: “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.

“Journey planners will be updated on a week-by-week basis, with updates taking place towards the end of each week. Customers should check their journey as close to their time of travel as possible.”

The core timetables are available via the SWR website, but customers are urged to check their journey as close to their time of travel as possible. 

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