South Western Railway to increase services to pre-Omicron levels
A date has now been confirmed
Last updated 11th Feb 2022
South Western Railway (SWR) has announced that it will be introducing a new timetable from Monday 21st February that will see train services return to pre-Omicron levels.
SWR say the move comes as improving staff availability means they can increase the number of trains it runs without compromising reliability for customers.
The company say the timetable will be almost identical to the one that served customers in December 2021.
Earlier this year, they were forced to introduce a temporary timetable in response to staff absences caused by the spread of Omicron.
However the issue was raised at Prime Ministers Question by West Dorset MP, Chris Loder who wasn't happy about the cut back timetable still in place.
Commenting, SWR Managing Director Claire Mann said:
“It has been a difficult period for our railway and the customers it serves, with significant staff shortages giving us no choice but to temporarily reduce our timetable last month.
“With staff availability now consistently improving, we are pleased to be able to announce this uplift, which will essentially see service levels return to where they were prior to the spread of Omicron.
“More and more people are returning to our railway, and this timetable will ensure that we match capacity and demand while delivering reliability for customers”.
South West Wiltshire MP, Andrew Murrison has responded to the reinstatement of full services:
"I'm very pleased the timetable hiccup has been relatively short lived. Now looking forward to meeting the new trains minister and bringing closure on the Tisbury loop issue which has been bringing the mainline service from London Waterloo to a grinding halt for decades."