Commuters across the borough, including workers heading for central London and school children, have been warned of train service cuts linked to Covid-19.

South Western Railway (SWR) has admitted that staff absence will trigger a series of short notice cancellations in the coming days.

And the company has drawn up plans for a reduced train services to come into effect from January 17 amid concerns about a lack of drivers.

The changes will heap misery on passengers who have complain that even the trains that are running often involve a reduced number of carriages, forcing dangerous crowding.

An SWR spokesman said: "The onset of the Omicron variant has led to a shortage of staff across our business – from drivers and guards to engineers and controllers.

"These staff shortages have inevitably had a significant impact on our services, leading to short notice cancellations.

"As a result, we will be introducing a new, consolidated timetable from Monday January 17.

"Our focus is on producing a timetable that is deliverable, so that we improve reliability for our customers, and caters to key workers, school pupils and those who cannot work from home."

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The company will be publishing further details on our new timetable shortly.

The firm added: "Until the introduction of the new timetable on 17 January, our services will still be subject to short notice cancellations. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers."