Covid spike forces timetable alert for passengers on Stratford lines

CUTS to train services have kicked off today, Monday, after a spike in Covid cases forced West Midlands Railway to rejig what it could run.

It is working on a new timetable due out in three or four weeks but until then anyone looking to travel on its routes to and from Stratford is urged to check in advance which services are running as the cuts will be different each day.

An early casualty was today's 6.52am service from Stratford to Worcester via Snow Hill.

But a spokesman for the company said the cancellations could be different each day until a new timetable had been drawn up.

He added the spike in Covid had affected the numbers of train crew it had available at the same time as the crisis had delayed the training of new recruits.

The routes affected are those linking to Snow Hill, which includes the Stratford services.

The spokesman said routes through New Street were coping at the moment but on the Snow Hill lines – which includes services to Leamington, those that run from Whitlocks End and Dorridge and out to the likes of Worcester and Kidderminster – he expected there could be a total of some 25 cancellations a day until the new timetable is sorted.

He added: "We are looking at a timetable that will keep people moving but not at the level we hoped."