Coronavirus: Southern Rail to gradually reduce services from Monday (March, 23)

Friday, 20 March 2020 15:49

Southern Rail will be operating on a revised timetable from Monday (March, 23) in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Starting from Monday, services across the nation will be gradually reduced in line with plans agreed by the government and the rail industry. The Department for Transport said demand for rail travel has fallen by up to 69 per cent on some routes since the prime minister issued advice to stop all non-essential journeys. The company behind Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, and Thameslink said they will introduce a revised timetable as they work to manage and protect services for key workers. It's stressed that services are for essential travel only. Govia Thameslink Railway said: "With significant reductions to the number of people travelling; and with staff sickness and self-isolation starting to rise, we will be introducing this revised timetable from Monday (March, 23) and it will run until further notice. "This is being done to ensure we are able run a service during the prolonged Coronavirus outbreak." The amended timetable will be available in online journey planners by Sunday (March, 22). The train operator said that services will be further reduced from the following Monday (March, 30), with the amended timetable available by March 29. More Radio is continuously dedicated to providing a quality news service on-air and online, reporting local stories that matter across Sussex. If you enjoyed reading this story, then check out our home page at moreradio.online where you can find the latest from the county, along with features and competitions from our presenters, as well as listening to the station live. You can also sign up to our news alerts to receive updates on new stories. Simply click on the bell at the bottom right of the home page. This will then allow a pop-up which will ask if you would like to receive alerts. Press ‘allow’ and you’re all signed up! You can also follow us on Facebook and on Twitter.