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Covid forces Southern Railway to suspend services in London Victoria

The pandemic has taken a toll on rail services at the UK capital’s second-busiest station, with one major operator having to suspend all of its trains to London Victoria, citing employee absenteeism related to coronavirus.

Govia Thameslink Railway said its Southern Rail services in and out of Victoria – to places like Southampton, Brighton and Eastbourne – will be suspended until January 10.

The airline’s other services, on the South, North and Thameslink routes, will run on a decreasing weekday schedule until further notice as too many employees are self-isolating or becoming ill. Covid-19.

The Gatwick Express, which runs between the airport and London Victoria, will remain suspended after closing for engineering work over the Christmas period.

The cancellations highlight the rapid spread of the more contagious Omicron coronavirus variant that has disrupted sectors across the economy.

Angie Doll, Interim CEO of GTR, said: “Due to the significant challenges we face with Covid currently affecting many of our colleagues, we have decided to run the calendar. Train schedule decreased from January. We sincerely apologize if this affected your journey. ”

Other rail operators – including Avanti West Coast, Greater Anglia, London North Eastern Railway, Northern, ScotRail, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales – have been forced to cancel trains or adjust service due to staff issues difficult.

In the seven days to December 29, the average employee absenteeism across all train companies was 8.9% and about one in 20 trains was cancelled, according to Rail Delivery Group, the representative representing operators in the UK. This level is almost double the normal level.

“Our employees are working under difficult circumstances and like everyone else, they are vulnerable to the virus,” RDG said. “We may not be able to run every train we have planned and there may be changes to some services.”

On Wednesday, daily Covid-19 cases in the UK rose to 183,037, including new records for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Britain has reduced the period of self-isolation to seven days in an attempt to limit disruptions to public services but ministers have resisted pressure to follow the US in reducing it to five days.

As part of the temporary cancellation of Southern to London Victoria lines, no trains will call at Battersea Park, Clapham Junction or Wandsworth Common stations and certain services will be redirected to instead London Bridge.

Some rail operators are also facing challenges in operating services due to union action. Union RMT confirmed that strike action will take place on Friday on CrossCountry Trains and by workers at Edinburgh Waverley station.

Elsewhere, the freight rail network has run into a separate problem that could exacerbate troubles in the country’s supply chain. Metro Shipping, a logistics group, says that a train derailment at the London Gateway port has suspended rail services from one of the UK’s biggest container hubs, putting further pressure on shipping. road load.

DP World, the company that operates the terminal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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