Rail company promises a return of train services from Monday 21st
By Rory Poulter
17th Feb 2022 | Local News
Most of the train services cut because of the impact of the Omicron variant of covid will be reinstated from Monday 21st.
The news was announced by South Western Railway (SWR), which had blamed the cuts on rising staff absence linked to the variant.
It will bring some relief to travellers who have complained about overcrowding in packed carriages at a time with covid remains a risk.
While, commuters and children getting to school will welcome the change, services are still much reduced when compared to the pre-pandemic timetable.
The rail passenger group SWR Watch, which monitors the entire SWR network, welcomed the news, but said: "This still leaves passengers with hundreds of fewer trains per week.
"The aim must now surely be to restore the full pre-pandemic timetables ASAP and lower prices to drive growth from road to rail"
SWR has also said that not all of the services cut due to Omicron will return on Monday, such as the 7am Shepperton to Waterloo via Richmond.
The 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."
As things stand, SWR has no plans to return train services to pre-pandemic levels.
The Twickenham MP, Munira Wilson, has been critical of cuts on the Shepperton line and has been lobbying for the return of full peak-time services.
Richmond Park MP, Sarah Olney, gave the news from SWR a cautious welcome.
She said: "This is hugely welcome news given the government's lifting of its work from home guidance."
But she added: "Important to add that two AM peak services, on the Shepperton and Hounslow loops, will not be reintroduced. I shall monitor the situation closely and, if the demand is there, encourage SWR to bring them back."
Details of services can be found here.
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