Train operator London Northwestern Railway have announced temporary timetable changes from tomorrow (24th July) due to the shortage of staff.

The changes affect the Abbey Line (between Watford Junction – St. Albans Abbey) and the Marston Vale Line (Bedford – Bletchley), as well as some weekday services between Northampton and London.

‘Test and Trace’ notifications to staff have quadrupled in recent weeks and are causing trains to be cancelled and amended at short notice.

Changes to be put in place are:-

From 24 July 2021

On Saturdays, buses will run in place of trains on the Abbey Line (between Watford Junction – St. Albans Abbey) and the Marston Vale Line (Bedford – Bletchley).

From 26 July 2021

The following weekday services will no longer run:

• 07.53 Bletchley – Euston
• 17.05 Euston – Watford Junction
• 17.43 Watford Junction – Euston
• 18.24 Euston – Northampton

London Northwestern Railway’s Customer Experience director, Lawrence Bowman said; “No one wants to see trains being cancelled, particularly at short notice. But we are experiencing more of this, across all our services, as increasing numbers of staff are getting ‘pinged’ by the Test and Trace app. We are sorry that we have had to make the decision to alter some services. However, the changes will help us run a more reliable and consistent timetable for passengers across our network.”

Over 100 extra drivers were recruited by London Northwestern before the pandemic, but their training has been delayed because of Covid restrictions and could now take up to a year to complete.

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