South Western Railway will be introducing a new temporary timetable due to Covid from today, which an organisation has said marks a 'new low point' for the service. 

On January 17, today, a number of changes have been announced which impact all SWR rail services, trains from London Waterloo in particular. 

READ MORE: The Salisbury train services impacted by new Omicron SWR timetable

The temporary timetable has been slammed by non-profit organisation Railfuture, director Stewart Palmer commenting: "SWR have already reduced the attractiveness of these services by reducing frequencies, extending average journey times and the withdrawal of on-train refreshments.

"They seem to display a cavalier disregard for the needs of rail users.

"These changes will just drive passengers away to higher carbon means of transport.

The group, which has around 20,000 members in Britain, urged rail users and politicians to "make their voices heard to reverse this madness”.

What are the SWR timetable changes?

Here are the changes that have been announced by SWR 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 

The temporary timetable changes will remain under review, and journey planners will be updated on a week-by-week basis.

Why have SWR introduced a temporary timetable from today?

SWR made the decision to implement this temporary timetable in order to even out the service, in the face of the impact of Omicron on staff. 

However, Railfuture director Stewart Palmer said: “There is no evidence from recent weeks that the levels of sickness by staff from Covid has forced these changes on SWR on these two routes"

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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