Timetables cut back as staff go sick or self isolate

Several train operators have published emergency timetables in a bid to allow for the number of staff who are absent because of Covid. Some are ill while others are self isolating. There are also warnings that in spite of the reduced timetables more trains may be cancelled at short notice. The operators affected include ScotRail, Merseyrail, Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern, Gatwick Express, South Western Railway, Greater Anglia and Hull Trains. Others, including Avanti West Coast and LNER, have made no formal timetable changes but are warning that some of their trains may be cancelled if staff cannot book in at their depots. London Northwestern Railway has also warned that disruption is likely, and is running rail replacement buses between Bedford and Bletchley and between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey.