Greater Anglia is making a temporary reduction to its timetable in response to falling passenger numbers and to ensure the company can continue to provide a reliable service throughout the latest phase of the pandemic. Some services are being removed from the weekday timetable from Monday 20 December. This still leaves over 1,200 services – just under 90 per cent of the pre-pandemic timetable – still running. Jay Thompson, Greater Anglia’s train service delivery director, said: “We are very sorry for any inconvenience this causes to customers. “Government guidelines asking people to work from home combined with Christmas when fewer people travel has led to a drop in our passenger numbers. “In addition, we have to plan for our staff being affected by the new omicron variant, especially as we are already starting to see the early signs of its impact. We’ve therefore decided to make some revisions to our timetable now, to ensure we can provide a reliable service to our customers over the coming weeks. “We believe this is better than cancelling trains on the day which is far more inconvenient for our customers – this way they can plan their journeys in advance.” Full details of the service changes will be published on the Greater Anglia website. Customers should check before they travel using the Greater Anglia website or app to see which train they can catch. Greater Anglia is thanking the large numbers of customers who are wearing face coverings at stations and on trains, which once again is mandatory unless you are exempt. People who do not wear face coverings could face fines of up to £6,400. The company is continuing with enhanced cleaning and sanitisation especially of high touch areas such as push buttons, grab handles and arm rests. Ventilation on trains is provided by air conditioning which sucks fresh air in every six to nine minutes or opening windows and doors opening at stations. People wishing to find a train with fewer passengers can use the “less busy trains” tool on the company’s website which enables customers to pick the quietest trains travelling to and from London Liverpool Street. Anyone with Covid symptoms is reminded not to travel and to get tested.
